Inside Huntsville, Alabama is the sole home of a particular 3.5 liter V6 engine and soon, it will be produced in larger amounts than ever before. Made possible by an approximate $80 million investment, Toyota Motor Company will boost assembly of the powerplant for North American applications which should be fully implemented by March 2014. When all is said and done, the automaker will be able to make an additional 216,000 six cylinder engines via an all-new, 300,000 square foot expansion to the southern state’s assembly complex.
Managed by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama Inc. (TMMAL), the larger facility will have an annual V6 engine capacity of 362,000 when construction is completed. Built alongside the six are U.S.-spec inline four and V8 engines that can be found in eight of the 12 North American Toyotas. The announced expansion will increase Huntsville’s total engine annual engine output to more than 700,000. To make sure the mills get pieced together just right, an extra workforce of approximately 125 strong will be added.
“This V6 line addition continues to reflect our growing optimism for an improving North American market, and we continue to study more localization in North America,” said Steve St. Angelo, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc.
Source: Toyota
