Toyota plans $126M expansion of MI R&D facility

Toyota has just announced that it will be investing $126 million to expand its operations in and around Ann Arbor, MI. The move will add around 85 jobs.

In addition to expanding its Ann Arbor powertrain research and development facility (shown above), Toyota will also establish a new facility for vehicle development at its York Township facility. The move will allow the company to centralize its operations, "increasing their scope, responsibility and decision-making ability," Toyota said in a statement.

"Centralizing our vehicle development and powertrain functions here in Michigan is beneficial for our decision-making process and allows us to better respond to changes in the marketplace while improving the speed at which we can offer technology advances to customers," says Ed Mantey, the senior VP at the Toyota Tech Center.

This is Toyota's second investment in the Ann Arbor area in barely a year, as it made a $28 million investment late in 2013. Scroll down for the official press release from Toyota. Show full PR text More Toyota in the Motor City

Toyota Technical Center to consolidate development operations

December 18, 2014
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Dec. 18, 2014) - Toyota announced today that it is planning another expansion of its Southeast Michigan R&D campuses. This marks the third time in just over a year that Toyota has announced plans to increase employment and investment in Michigan. Today's announcement features a total investment of $126 million for the expansion of Toyota's powertrain operations at its Ann Arbor campus and the consolidation of vehicle development operations at a new facility on its York Township campus.

Both vehicle development and powertrain functions will become centralized in Michigan, increasing their scope, responsibility and decision-making ability while providing improved communication and access to the company's direct procurement division. Approximately 85 jobs will relocate to Michigan from California by the end of 2016 as a part of the move.

In late 2013, Toyota announced a $28 million expansion of its Ann Arbor operations and earlier this year announced the addition of 250 direct procurement and supplier engineering development positions currently based in Erlanger, Ky.

"The Technical Center continues to be a vital part of our growing North American operations that enables Toyota to package greater value for our customers," said Ed Mantey, senior vice president at the Toyota Technical Center. "Centralizing our vehicle development and powertrain functions here in Michigan is beneficial for our decision-making process and allows us to better respond to changes in the marketplace while improving the speed at which we can offer technology advances to customers."

"Toyota's expansion in the Ann Arbor region is a clear indicator that we offer the perfect infrastructure, talented workforce and support for a growing business," said Paul Krutko President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK. "Toyota could locate its North American powertrain operations anywhere but chose Ann Arbor; the company's investment and the jobs it will create are a continuing win for our economy."

In April 2014, Toyota announced that it would establish new headquarters in North Dallas (Plano), Texas for its North American operations as part of a series of moves designed to better serve customers and position the company for sustainable, long-term growth. This strategy includes establishing a new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas; expanding the Toyota Technical Center facilities in Southeast Michigan to accommodate increased investment in its engineering and product development capabilities; and opening a production engineering facility at Toyota's largest U.S. manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky. The new facilities are expected to be completed by 2017.

Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2013 - and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
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