Toyota North America said Monday it picked North Carolina’s Greensboro area as the site for its $1.29 billion battery plant, expected to come on line by 2025 and eventually produce batteries for more than 1 million vehicles.
The plant, to be named Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina, or TBMNC, will have four production lines, each able to produce enough lithium-ion batteries for 200,000 vehicles, Toyota said.
The goal is to eventually expand the plant to at least six production lines for a combined total of up to 1.2 million vehicles a year, the company said.
The $1.29 billion investment is part of a total investment of $3.4 billion Toyota announced in October and is expected to create 1,750 jobs, the company said.
See also: Chasing Tesla: Here are the current electric vehicle plans of every major car maker
“The future of mobility is electrification,” Toyota Motor North America Chief Executive Ted Ogawa said in a statment.
North Carolina offers the “right” conditions for the investment, including the infrastructure, a high-quality education system, access to a diverse and skilled workforce, “and a welcoming environment for doing business,” he said.
Toyota’s U.S.-listed shares
TM,
have gained 29% this year, compared with an advance of around 22% for the S&P 500 index.
SPX,
