By Ayomide Otitoju
Japanese automaker Toyota has announced plans to invest an additional $10 billion in the United States over the next five years, confirming earlier remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to Asia.
The new commitment will bring Toyota’s total investment in the U.S. to nearly $60 billion since it began operations in the country nearly 70 years ago, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The announcement coincided with the inauguration of Toyota’s first U.S. factory dedicated to producing lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. Located in North Carolina, the plant represents an investment of nearly $14 billion and is expected to create up to 5,100 jobs.
Trump had in October said that Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda informed him of plans to spend $10 billion and build multiple car plants across several U.S. states. However, Toyota initially played down the claim, with its finance chief, Kenta Kon, saying it was “difficult to confirm the accuracy of the $10 billion figure.”
In July, Tokyo agreed to invest $550 billion in the U.S. economy in exchange for Washington lowering tariffs on Japanese cars to 15 percent, down from a proposed 25 to 27.5 percent. Japanese automakers are also facing pressure from the Trump administration to export vehicles built in U.S. factories back to Japan.
“Efforts are underway to harmonize Japanese certification standards with those of the United States. If these preparations are successful, we would be willing to consider it,” said Hiroyuki Ueda, Toyota’s head of public affairs, at the Tokyo Mobility Show.
Toyota imported about half of the vehicles it sold in the U.S. last year — mainly from Canada and Mexico, as well as around 281,000 units produced in Japan, according to Bloomberg News.
Despite tariff concerns, Toyota recently raised its operating income and net profit forecasts for the current fiscal year. Shares of the automaker edged down 0.1 percent to 3,187 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo on Thursday.
