Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, the same as in the previous five years. This will be made in order to meet demand and upgrade plants to build more fuel-efficient models. The Japanese automaker has come under fire by President-elect Donald Trump for its plans, announced in 2015, to shift production of its Corolla to Mexico from Canada.
The decision was not in response to Trump's remarks made in a recent tweet, but was part of Toyota's business strategy to invest in the U.S., where it has 10 plants in eight states. Planning for the new Mexico plant began about two years before it was announced in 2015. The $10 billion includes Toyota's new North American headquarters in Texas that is under construction and major improvements to its plants. Toyota plans to expand some of its U.S. plants over the next five years. Toyota, which employs 40,000 in the U.S., added more than 5,000 U.S. jobs over the last five years.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said that the company is deeply grateful to the millions of customers who have made Camry the number one selling car in America for the last 15 years. North America CEO Jim Lentz said "everyone" agrees with Trump's goals of boosting manufacturing and U.S. employment, in part because "it helps us sell more cars."
