Toyota plans to invest $126 million into its Ann Arbor, Michigan-based technical center and, by extension, giving the it more decision-making responsibilities.
The definition of “Made in America” is getting rewritten again by Toyota as it announced it plans to invest $126 million into its Ann Arbor, Michigan-based technical center and, by extension, giving the center more decision-making responsibilities.
Toyota is expanding its powertrain operations in Ann Arbor as well as consolidating its vehicle development operations a new facility in nearby York Township, Michigan. The moves will cause the relocation of 85 jobs from California to Michigan.
“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.”
This marks the third time in the last 12 months the automaker has plowed cash into the research and development center, expanding its impact on the Toyota products made in the U.S.
(Toyota expands tech center as part of North American reorganization. For more, Click Here.)
The automaker spent $32.5 million to expand the Ann Arbor campus in August, moving 250 purchasing jobs there from Kentucky.
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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, Kentucky.
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Toyota currently has four research and development facilities in Southeast Michigan: Ann Arbor, York Township, Plymouth and Livonia. The Ann Arbor site has been in operation for 35 years.
The expansion comes at Toyota relocates its North American headquarters from Torrance, California, to Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas.