toyota factory tour kentucky

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Toyota Manufacturing Tour

Take a road trip to Toyota Kentucky, America’s first and the world’s largest Toyota manufacturing facility. Each day at the plant, people and machines are working together to build ever-better cars, like the RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES 350 and America’s best-selling car for 17 years running – the Camry. Get a good look at a mint condition 1988 Camry, the first Camry ever made in the United States. Then, buckle up for a ride around the plant on a guided, tram-driven tour.

TOURS: CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

Toyota 

Website:   www.tourtoyota.com/kentucky Phone:    502-570-6572 Address:    1001 Cherry Blossom Way, Georgetown, KY 40324

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Factory Tour - Toyota Visitor Center

• United States    
• Kentucky (KY)    
• Georgetown    
• Georgetown - Things to Do    
• Toyota Visitor Center

This is a very cool experience you have to see if you’ll be in the area!! We really enjoyed it... read more

The staff at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable! From... read more

Factory Tour

You don’t want to miss this free tour of the Toyota factory-it was soooo interesting and well done. Be sure to make a reservation before you go, but there is no cost. It was absolutely amazing to watch a vehicle being created from a thin piece of metal. We’ll plan to bring the grandchildren next time!

The Toyota Manufacturing plant offers free tours of its facilities that are interesting for young and old alike. An orientation movie introduces visitors to the automated assembly plant. The narrated 45-minute tram ride through the plant allows visitors to see first-hand how technology and employees work together to produce around 2,000 vehicles a day at this plant. Be sure to make reservations well in advance of your visit.

This tour is fascinating, as is the entire philosophy of Toyota Manufacturing. The plant is massive, and the energy of the place, seeing the lines in motion is amazing and inspiring. This is a unique experience ideal for people of any age (minimum age is 6) and I think it would be especially cool for kids. I went with a work group focusing on continuous process improvement, but I will return as a tourist!

This is a wonderful and free tour! Make sure you make a reservation ahead of time to guarantee a spot. The process is easy. They have a small lobby once you arrive and wait to look at a few cars and you can take some pictures there. They have the first Camry produced in the US in there. But after that, any recording device (including cell phone) has to go in a locker. Your are given safety goggles and a headset for your tour as you ride around parts of the 8 million square foot building seeing cars being put together starting with a roll of steel up until they drive it away to test it. It’s an amazing process to see and an incredibly informative and interesting tour. This is a must see event!

We were unable to get on the tour. You need to book in advance or get there when they open to see if they get a cancellation. They do have a nice video you can watch even if you don’t do the tour.

I really enjoyed this educational tram ride around the massive Toyota plant. Because of its vast size, you only get to see a fraction of the factory during the hour or so you spend inside. Our trip was backwards along the production line, starting with final assembly and working in reverse to the robot welders, stampers, and finally to the rolls of steel that start the whole process. Although they manufacture the engines here too, we weren't able to see that. Same with many plastic parts used on the cars, although they said they will be adding the plastic part production to the tour in the future. No cameras or bags allowed during the tour, but they provide free lockers to store these items. Reservations needed, although there are cancellations sometimes, so it might be possible to tour without a reservation. There is no charge for the tour. There is a nice waiting area with cars and engines on display, a shop with Toyota merchandise, and friendly staff. They provide a personal audio device so you can listen to the (very informative) tour guide, but I found the audio a bit muffled, and my children complained that it became uncomfortable after a while (the audio device hangs from your ears). You must wear the supplied safety goggles, and they were also a little uncomfortable over my glasses. The plant is clean inside and air conditioned, but there are odors in spots.

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Kentucky Toyota Assembly Plant Tour Visitor Info & Review

Welcome to Toyota’s assembly plant in Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown, Kentucky is home to the country’s largest  Toyota manufacturing facility. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.–known as TMMK and built in 1988–constructs 2,000 vehicles and engines daily in its 7.5 million square foot facility. And as a guest of TMMK, you have the opportunity to view production.

Address:  1001 Cherry Blossom Way, Georgetown, Kentucky 40324

Directions: Take I-75 to exit 129; head east on KY-620 Cherry Blossom Way and enter Gate 2. A security guard will tell you where to park: a left turn into a parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.

Parking:  Plenty of free on-site parking is offered for cars and buses.

Cost:  Tours are free.

Hours:  Plant tours are Monday through Friday at 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 6pm (on Thursdays only). The Visitor Center is open from 8:30am-3:30pm on weekdays, with extended hours on Thursdays.

Reservations:  Strongly encouraged but not mandatory. Walk-ins will have to wait for a vacant spot on the next tour. Call 502-868-3027 or 1-800-TMM-4485 to reserve a spot. A valid photo ID is required upon check-in.

Rules:  Like most factory tours, the following are not permitted: cell phones, cameras, and purses/book bags/brief cases. These items  are allowed in the visitor’s center but will be collected at the check-in desk before boarding the tour. Children must be older than 6 years (first grade or above).

Handicap Accessible:  Those with physical disabilities are able to access the visitor’s center and board the seated, motorized tour. Headphones are provided to hear the tour narration.

At the visitor’s center, you can drop off your phone, camera, and other belongings for safekeeping during the tour

Experience:  Upon arriving at the Visitor Center and checking in at the main desk, you will be able to browse the 11,500-square-foot welcome area that features archival footage, milestone vehicles, and information on the company. There’s even a gift shop selling Toyota merchandise.

Once your tour time is called, you’ll gather in a room to watch a video on the history of the plant and safety guidelines on the tour. You will then be assigned to a tour guide, receive your wireless headset, and board the motorized tram.

Your ride will take you through the assembly plant as you see the inner workings of an automotive assembly plant in action–from the arrangement of the cabin to the steel stamping. You’ll wear a headset for your audio-guided tour so you can hear the leader explain everything you see, and goggles for safety.

The entire experience, including seeing the welcome center, lasts two hours.

TMMK also has an Environmental Education Center for groups of students. The surrounding 50 acres of nature feature a walk through wetlands and prairies with signs that detail how the brand and facility are keeping the Earth green.

You can get one of these after taking the tour!

Review:  First of all, this tour is absolutely free, and getting the type of experience you get seeing the Toyota assembly plant in action is worth a drive. Plus, Georgetown is in the bluegrass region, right near the beautiful and horse-loving city of Lexington , so visiting TMMK should be part of your vacation.

Finding and checking in at the plant is simple and streamlined. The welcome center offers plenty to see while visitors are waiting for their tour. And the tour itself is very thorough, so it’s engaging for those who aren’t normally interested in cars.

The headsets are a brilliant addition which make the tour more informative and engaging than other tours which rely on audible conversation . Even if you’re not a fan of Toyota, TMMK has made the definitive factory tour experience , making automobile assembly fascinating for all people.

When you go, make sure you pick up one of their postcards as a memento of your experience!

Interested in visiting? Watch the video below or go to the official website .

Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a Hyundai Veloster Turbo (which recently replaced his 1995 Saturn SC-2). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing… See more articles by Aaron.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK)

Employment 16

Located in Georgetown, Kentucky, you'll find a $8 billion testament to the ingenuity, pride and skill of Kentucky workers. TMMK is the largest Toyota manufacturing facility in the world and Toyota’s first wholly-owned vehicle plant in the U.S. Today, TMMK employs more than 8,000 team members on 1,300 acres. As many as 550,000 vehicles a year roll off the lines here, including the Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid and the Lexus ES 350. 5

1001 Cherry Blossom Way Georgetown, KY 40324

https://www.tourtoyota.com/kentucky

Vehicles Produced 5

RAV4 Hybrid

Lexus ES 350

Lexus ES 300h

Assembled Here  5

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• 0 . Includes all dealers and suppliers.
• 1 . Data as of 1/31/23.
• 2 . Represents "Outside-Company-Time" for CY 2020.
• 3 . All data as of December 2021, except where noted.
• 4 . Toyota vehicles and components assembled using U.S. and globally sourced parts (CYE2022).
• 5 . Parts, materials and components (CY2021). Goods and Services (CY2021).
• 6 . Represents direct dealer and Toyota-dedicated supplier employees (CYE2021).
• 7 . Includes U.S. (not HI) and Puerto Rico.
• 8 . As of CYE2023.
• 9 . Includes direct, dealer and supplier employees and jobs created through their spending.
• 10 . All data as of December 31, 2021, except where noted. All figures are rounded and reported as U.S. dollars, except where noted. State and location investment figures are based on different parameters; therefore, figures may vary.
• 11 . CY 2020.
• 12 . Cumulative to Date.
• 13 . As of December 31, 2020. May represent more than one location. Canada dealer totals include Lexus and Toyota dealers.
• 14 . Represents only a selection of parts purchased.
• 15 . As of August 2023.
• 16 . Figure is projected.
• 17 . As part of the brand transition beginning in August 2016, model year 2019 Scion vehicles will be rebadged as Toyotas.
• 18 . Based on Toyota data. Includes direct employees and dealer employees.
• 19 . Shown in U.S. dollars to reflect investment from US based operations of TEMA.
• 20 . As of CYE2021.
• 21 . Including our joint venture plant in Alabama.
• 22 . 2015 Center for Automotive Research Study. Includes direct, dealer and supplier employees, and jobs created through their spending.
• 23 . Employment and Investment are reflective of the combined TMMMO and TMMTN numbers.
• 24 . Data is CYTD as of 2/6/23.
• 25 . Data is CYTD as of 1/31/23.
• 26 . As of March 1, 2022. Includes on-site suppliers.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Plant Tour

Central Kentucky’s factory tours offer a peek into dynamic manufacturing industries

by Shannon Clinton

February 26, 2019

There’s a lot of ground to cover at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.’s Georgetown plant—more than 8 million square feet under roof, or the equivalent of about 170 football fields. Visitors will be relieved to hear, then, that the general tour isn’t a walking tour. After guests watch a short video about the company’s operations, a motorized tram zips them safely from one area to another. Along the way they get a firsthand look at human workers and robots fabricating enormous rolls of steel into parts. In several areas, humans and machines work together, with the machines doing the heavy lifting as humans guide components into place for assembly.

Toyota’s Georgetown plant, which produces 2,000 vehicles per day like the Camry and Avalon, is the nation’s first and the world’s largest Toyota manufacturing facility. The first vehicle here rolled off the line in 1988, with tours added a couple years later. About 35,000 visitors tour the plant annually, which begs the question: With all of that large-scale production happening and hundreds of employees working every day, why open up your manufacturing facility to tens of thousands of visitors?

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky uses trams to show guests around its more than 8-million-square-foot plant in Georgetown. 

Rick Hesterberg, manager of external affairs, sees two key advantages for the Georgetown Toyota plant to open its doors to the public. Visiting school groups provide students a firsthand look at the types of careers available there, he said, and tours also build brand awareness and spotlight the craftsmanship of team members to those considering buying a new vehicle.

During tours, some preconceptions will also likely change about what auto manufacturing entails, he said. The company’s Environmental Education Center Tour, for example, educates students on how manufacturing can reduce its impact on the environment, and how Toyota strives to protect and conserve natural resources. “This is what advanced manufacturing looks like today,” Hesterberg said. “It’s very different than it was 30 years ago.” Stay tuned: Hesterberg said a newly streamlined visitor registration process will also be unveiled soon.

Pour on the fun

Other Central Kentucky plants also offer a glimpse behind the curtains of their operations for little or no cost, including Ale-8-One in Winchester. Ale-8-One debuted in 1926 at the Clark County Fair and is today overseen by founder G.L. Wainscott’s great-great-nephew, Fielding Rogers, in a manufacturing plant that company has occupied since 1966. Fielding “still mixes up every batch of the secret formula by hand … and he still has his great-great uncle’s handwritten notes,” said marketing manager DeAnne Elmore.

Visitors to Ale-8-One’s facility in Georgetown see various parts of the production process. They can also enjoy a free Ale-8 as part of the tour.

Typical tour guests include school groups, church groups, professional tour groups and individuals, with Memorial Day to Labor Day being the busiest season. Elmore said the free tours, which Ale-8 has offered for about 15 years, pair video footage and archival materials with firsthand views of some the plant’s operations, within the guidelines of both health and OSHA regulations.

For Ale-8, the decision to offer factory tours goes hand-in-hand with its fun, accessible brand image and also helps reinforce its reputation as “Kentucky’s soft drink”—especially since guests can enjoy a free, freshly filled longneck bottle of Ale-8-One at the end of the tour. “It’s celebrating life’s simple pleasures, and that creates brand loyalty for us,” Elmore said. “It also champions the state, which we love. Without the loyalty from Kentuckians, we wouldn’t be as strong of a brand as we are.”

Elmore said the costs associated with the salaries of dedicated tour guides and all those free sodas are somewhat offset by gift-shop purchases, but overall they are an investment in the brand’s business goals and image.

Distilling the experience

Buffalo Trace Distillery, the oldest continuously operating distillery in America, offers several free, themed tours in addition to its general guided tour, called the Trace Tour. Visitors view an informational video, enter barrel houses where bourbon is aged and see other production areas before enjoying an opportunity to taste the product for themselves in the Buffalo Trace gift shop (ages 21 and older only with a valid ID, of course). Buffalo Trace also offers a Hard Hat Tour, National Historic Landmark Tour, Bourbon Barrel Tour and Ghost Tours, each lasting about an hour and including a complimentary tasting.

“We believe home places are a strong driver for building brand loyalty, and we love showing our visitors every day the passion and enthusiasm our team has for Buffalo Trace Distillery,” said spokesperson Amy Preske. “We hope when our guests return home, they will remember the stories we shared and have fond memories of their time spent with us.”

Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort offers a variety of free tours to educate guests on how the company makes its products. 

In the past fiscal year, visitors from all 50 states and 20 countries have visited Buffalo Trace, Preske said. Safety is a top priority. The distillery employs a full-time safety coordinator and security staff. Tour guides also routinely walk tour routes before welcoming guests.

Not every plant is set up for hosting or is able to offer public tours. The JIF Plant (J.M. Smucker Company) on Winchester Road, for example, decided against offering tours primarily for safety and food safety regulations. “Additionally, there are proprietary manufacturing techniques and equipment that could inadvertently be made public,” said spokesperson Frank Cirillo.

Having a (bourbon) ball

Rebecca Ruth Candy Tours & Museum in Frankfort—which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year—has opened its candy factory up for tours for about 15 years. Guests begin by watching a video about the origins of chocolate and how it’s made. They then tour the kitchen and factory areas and watch workers on the line apply finishing touches to candies and box the finished products. Lines on the floor denote boundaries guests can’t cross for sanitation and safety reasons, and photos and video aren’t allowed in some areas. After that comes the museum room, with historical artifacts and displays. The company touts itself as the creator of the Kentucky bourbon ball candy confection.

“In the summertime, we get people from all over the world just to take the tour and try the famous bourbon ball,” said Emily Noonan, retail manager and tour coordinator. If the free sample at the end of the tour isn’t enough, Rebecca Ruth’s gift shop sells about 50 varieties of candies that visitors can mix and match to make their own customized boxed assortment, as well as logo items such as keychains. “It not only builds brand loyalty but kids love it!” Noonan said of the experience.

Plan your plant tour

Toyota Motor Manufacturing

Kentucky, Inc., Georgetown

1001 Cherry Blossom Way,

Georgetown, KY 40324

www.toyotaky.com or call

(800) 866-4485. Free.

Ale-8-One, Winchester

25 Carol Road, Winchester, KY 40391

www.ale8one.com for online

registration and calendar with tour availability and FAQs or call

(859) 744-3484. Free.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

113 Great Buffalo Trace

Frankfort, KY 40601

www.buffalotracedistillery.com

or call (800) 654-8471. Free.

Rebecca Ruth Candy

Tours & Museum

116 E. Second St., Frankfort, KY 40601

www.rebeccaruthonline.com

Email [email protected], or call

502-223-8484. $5 per person,

children 5 and younger free.

Copyright Smiley Pete Publishing

• Smiley Pete Weekly

Toyota Factory Tour – Kentucky

We are already planning our summer day trips. We know that a major road trip vacation is not going to be feasible this year, but there are so many things to see, do and experience nearby that we want to make the most of the time we have. One thing on our list is the Toyota Factory Tour in Georgetown, Kentucky.

One of my blogger friends took her girls to tour the Toyota factory last summer. Ann shared several tips she learned from her visit.

At the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant, you will experience how a car is made, from start to finish. At the Georgetown plant, they manufacture the Camry, Venza and Avalon. The tour starts with a short video (about 10 minutes), then you board a tram for the plant tour. You will receive a headset to be able to listen to the guide as you travel through portions of the 7.5 million square foot facility.

Read Ann I Am’s Review of her recent Toyota Factory Tour

Since kids need to be in first grade before they can take the tour, we are excited that this summer my youngest son is finally old enough! I can guarantee you that we will be touring the factory this summer!

Have you ever been through a car factory? Got any tips?

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I’ve never done a car factory tour, but factory tours in general are so much fun. Too bad most of my kids are still too little for this one!

Hmm, this makes me want to see if Honda does a tour here in #Ohio! We are actually a toyota family so when my daughter is 5 we will have to try this!

My husband had a Toyota made in Kentucky. We are a Toyota family.

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Take a Made in America Kentucky Factory Tour

If you’re into cars or baseball, and what American isn’t, you’ll have a great time when you take these fun and educational Kentucky factory tours. I’m a big baseball fan myself (Go Tigers!) so if I’m ever in Kentucky, I definitely want to see them make a Louisville Slugger.

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Bowling Green Assembly Plant | Bowling Green, KY

The Bowling Green Assembly Plant offers public and private tours where you’ll get to see how America’s favorite sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette is made.

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No matter when you visit, the factory is always in action guaranteeing you’ll get to see how a Louisville Slugger is made. Guided tours last about 30 minutes. In addition, you’ll get to enjoy the museum, gift shop, personalize your own bat, and more.

#Louisville Slugger

Louisville Water Company | Louisville, KY

Tours and field trips offering a one of a one-of-a-kind educational experience that brings science, social studies, practical living, literacy, and math to life. Field trips include time in the WaterWorks Museum, interactive lessons, and a visit inside a working pump station that houses a renovated 100-foot-tall steam pump.

#Louisville Water Company

Portal 31 Mine | Lynch, KY

Put on the protective gear of a real coal miner and go underground in the rail car. The site also features a 1920s lamphouse, bathhouse, L&N train depot, and loadout system.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. | Georgetown, KY

Free, tram-driven tours through Toyota’s first wholly-owned American vehicle plant. Experience how people and machines work together to build award-winning vehicles on this working Kentucky factory tour.

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8 Fantastic Factory Tours You Can Only Take In Kentucky

Andrea Limke

A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. After earning an education degree and working in that field for a number of years, Andrea began to pursue her passion for writing over 6 years ago. Since then she has written for a number of print and online publications, as well as published a children's book.

More by this Author

Kentucky has plenty of claims to fame with many unique items made right here in the Bluegrass State. If you’re curious or fascinated by how things are created and then end up on your store shelves, we have the perfect list for you. Here are 8 fantastic factory tours throughout Kentucky that will show you how talented our community is and how we know how to create just about anything.

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All of these tours are unique to Kentucky and provide an intriguing way to spend a few hours. Have you taken any of these fantastic factory tours? Share your favorite with us in the comments!

And for more on the Rebecca Ruth Candy Tour, check out our previous article here .

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Oct. 07, 1988

TOYOTA DEDICATES NEW $800 MILLION PLANT IN KENTUCKY. U.S.A.

Toyota City―Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. (TMM), a subsidiary of TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, today held a ceremony to dedicate its new $800 million automobile manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. The plant is part of Toyota's $1.1 billion U.S. manufacturing complex that also includes a $300 million power train plant currently under construction.

The ceremony, which marks the formal opening of Toyota's first wholly owned automobile manufacturing facility in the U.S., was attended by almost 3,000 people, including Kentucky Governor Wallace Wilkinson and other members of local and national government, community leaders, supplier representatives and all of the 1,660 TMM 'team members' hired to date.

At the dedication, Toyota Motor Corporation President Shoichiro Toyoda said that the three years since the plant was announced had passed quickly. He went on: "Today's ceremony represents a new spirit―one of pioneering new economic, cultural and manufacturing ideals. A spirit of successfully merging the manufacturing ideals and practices of two nations in order to build a new tradition of success."

TMM began volume production of the Camry sedan in July of this year and is currently manufacturing some 175 cars per day. In early 1989, one shift at full capacity will yield approximately 400 cars per day. TMM will employ 3,500 for two such shifts, including 500 in the power train plant, and will produce 200,000 Camrys annually.

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Toyota Establishes Hydrogen Headquarters to Accelerate Advancement of Fuel Cell Technology

• H2HQ teams to lead NA region’s efforts to research, develop, commercialize and sell fuel cell and hydrogen-related products
• Renovated facility provides a refreshed office workspace, with plans to add features in the future, including a flexible microgrid, customer education center and more

GARDENA, Calif. (May 1, 2024) – Reaffirming its commitment to support fuel cell and additional hydrogen-related products and technology toward a hydrogen economy, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) today announced that it is renaming the TMNA R&D California office as its new North American Hydrogen Headquarters (H2HQ). The office workspace at the new H2HQ was recently redesigned for its teams working from research and development to commercialization planning and sales of hydrogen-related products and technologies. There are plans to add key features to the H2HQ campus in the future such as a flexible microgrid, sustainable customer education center and more.

“Toyota has developed hydrogen fuel cell electric solutions for more than three decades, and we will continue to advance this scalable, zero-emission technology as part of our electrified portfolio,” said Ted Ogawa, President and CEO, Toyota Motor North America. “Renaming this facility as North American Hydrogen Headquarters represents our leadership in fuel cell development creating real-world products to help reduce carbon emissions.”

Last year, Toyota Motor Corporation reorganized its hydrogen business in Japan to create what it calls “Hydrogen Factory” with the idea to bring all hydrogen-related work under one location and accelerate customer-oriented product development and production in fuel cell or hydrogen-related products. Then, Toyota Motor Europe announced its own “Hydrogen Factory” with the aim to further grow Toyota’s hydrogen business and stimulate wider roll-out of hydrogen ecosystems and infrastructure across Europe.

H2HQ will drive North American-led hydrogen initiatives and support the localization of global hydrogen-related technologies and products that include light-duty fuel cell applications, heavy-duty fuel cell opportunities, stationary fuel cell power generation, port vehicle applications and more. The facility already provides impressive research and development assets, including Toyota’s largest dynamometer (1.2 MW), a scalable test bench for stationary applications, and a hydrogen fueling station capable of providing fuel for both light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Moreover, as part of its plans to remain and grow fuel cell leadership, NA H2HQ will be home to several new projects in the coming years.

“I’m very pleased that Toyota is building on its longstanding commitment to California by locating its North American hydrogen headquarters here in the Golden State,” said California State Senator, District 29, Josh Newman. “The work done there, along with green hydrogen initiatives throughout the state, is propelling California toward a dynamic, clean-energy economy which will also reduce carbon emissions and foster environmental stewardship while extending California’s leadership in this important space.”

Construction has begun on a flexible microgrid that features energy sources available today, including a 230-kW solar photovoltaic system, a 1-MW stationary proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell generator, 325-kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and an onsite 500-kWh battery energy storage system. The microgrid is designed to support the campus’ energy needs, allowing it the ability to operate off-grid. The system is expected to be fully operational by 2026.

“California has ambitious goals to achieve clean air, carbon neutrality and a vibrant economy. Toyota’s investment to expand their research and development of hydrogen fuel cell technology in our state is an example of the innovation that will accelerate the development and deployment of zero-emissions transportation options, particularly as we decarbonize the goods movement sector,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph.

In the future, Toyota’s plans for the new North American Hydrogen HQ will include a sustainable education center, available for tours by reservation. The center will be a place for people to learn more about Toyota’s vision of sustainability and the role that hydrogen will play.

30+ Years of Development From creating one of the world’s first mass market passenger fuel cell electric vehicles in the  Mirai , to applying and scaling the technology now to other applications that can benefit from zero-emissions, including  heavy-duty transport ,  power generation systems,  and others, Toyota’s research and development with hydrogen fuel cell technology spans more than 30 years.

For much of that time, the Gardena office supported or initiated a wide range of fuel cell electric projects. To share some recent examples, the Fuel Cell Development (FCD) team was instrumental in supporting the development of Toyota’s light-duty Mirai, launched back in 2015, and the team collaborated with industry partners to help support infrastructure growth through the state of California.

In 2017, to address decarbonization efforts at local ports, Toyota’s FCD team helped prove the scalability of fuel cell technology after it acquired a Class 8 truck and fitted it with a fuel cell electric powertrain consisting of two Mirai fuel-cell stacks. This effort then led to a collaboration with PACCAR’s Kenworth brand to build 10 proof-of-concept trucks, trucks used to support the “Shore to Store” ZANZEFF project that proved the viability of hydrogen-powered fuel cells as a zero-emission powertrain in heavy-duty applications. PACCAR and Toyota later agreed in 2023 to pursue commercialization of the project, with Toyota supplying the fuel cell powertrain kits from its Kentucky plant as a Tier 1 supplier.

Most recently, Toyota has demonstrated a non-automotive opportunity for hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology in stationary power generation. Toyota and TRD partnered to build a stationary unit to provide electricity at events where it was not readily available, launching the first public activation at an LPGA Tour stop where the unit supported the power needs of the event stage and sound system. The solution provided clean, quiet power that was proven to capably replace traditional diesel generators. Last year, Toyota built a 1MW fuel cell electric generator for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado to support microgrid testing at the facility. And finally, earlier this year, Toyota collaborated with Kohler on a prototype stationary generator to provide backup emergency power for Klickitat Valley Health hospital in Goldendale, Washington.

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About Toyota Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 27 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit  www.ToyotaNewsroom.com .

Joshua Burns [email protected]

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