Toyota Motor North America announced plans to build a $1.29 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery production facility at the 1,825-acre Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, a KPMG-certified, shovel-ready site featuring the ideal combination of strategic location, world-class workforce and unparalleled transportation infrastructure. North Carolina is home to the global headquarters of several top lithium companies including the world’s largest provider of lithium to the EV battery industry, the largest known hard rock lithium (spodumene) deposit in the U.S., and the highest concentration of advanced lithium processing experts outside of China, making it the ideal location for companies entering and operating in the EV ecosystem
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“It’s tremendous that Toyota has selected North Carolina for such an important part of its electric vehicle future, creating good paying jobs and moving us toward a healthier environment,” Governor Roy Cooper said. “It’s clear the world is beginning to embrace a clean energy future and today’s decision puts North Carolina front and center.”
In addition to Thomas Built Buses and Arrival who are already manufacturing EVs in the state, North Carolina is home to more than 260 automotive suppliers and manufacturers. With EV sales in the world’s major car markets projected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 22 percent per year until 2030, the state is uniquely positioned to contribute to the adoption of, and benefit from the demand for EVs.
The selection of North Carolina and the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite followed multiple in-person and virtual site visits by Toyota, one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. The new venture company will be known as Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC), and will be led by a new venture between Toyota and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading arm of the Toyota Group.