HUNTSVILLE — Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama (TMMAL) hosted a celebratory event with local and state elected officials on Monday to unveil two new engines that will be exclusively built in Huntsville.
The company is expanding its production line with the inclusion of two new engines for the 2022 Toyota Tundra. The engines, a hybrid electric-powered twin-turbo V6 and a gas-powered twin-turbo V6, usher in the next era of powertrains being assembled in North Alabama.
The automotive manufacturer’s new engine line, which was part of a $288 million investment that added 450 jobs, represented the largest hiring need in Toyota Alabama’s history. The investment brought the plant’s total employment to 1,800. The project’s completion marked the fifth expansion at Toyota Alabama.
The company’s overall investment is $1.2 billion and now hails an annual engine capacity of 900,000.
Toyota’s Huntsville facility is the nation’s sole producer of both engine models for the 2022 Toyota Tundra, which it says creates long-term stability for the plant’s labor force.
Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL), Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong were among the elected leaders who were in attendance at the event.
.@Toyota Alabama unveils two new engines for the 2022 Tundra, both of which will be built in Huntsville:
A hybrid electric-powered twin-turbo V6 and a gas-powered twin-turbo V6. pic.twitter.com/fNGgkArWMU
— Dylan Smith (@DylanSmithAL) October 18, 2021
Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama, praised the work of the plant’s associates who he said made Monday’s announcement a reality.
“Our team members in Alabama recognize the confidence and trust Toyota places in us since we are the only plant selected to build engines for the all-new Tundra,” said Puckett. “Launching the new twin-turbo V6 line and celebrating our 20th anniversary remind us here just how lucky we are to have such incredible team members who have made Toyota Alabama known as ‘the engine capital of the world.’”
Both engine options are being built on the longest Toyota engine line in North America at 142 yards. According to Toyota Alabama, the V6 Turbo line will produce a new engine every 58 seconds, with a capacity to build 18,000 engines each month.
Ivey touted the state’s partnership with Toyota Alabama and proclaimed that Alabama is the “best place” to conduct business.
“For the last 20 years, our state and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama have shared a mutually beneficial relationship that has created remarkable outcomes for Alabamians,” the governor stated. “Toyota’s $288 million investment to produce the all-new twin-turbo V6 engine continues to demonstrate that Alabama is not only open for business, but is the best place to do business.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
