Toyota's First North American
Hybrid Production Begins in Kentucky
Toyota Motor Manufacturing,
Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) celebrated the production launch of the
Camry Hybrid today – Toyota's first hybrid vehicle produced in
North America.
The addition of hybrid production
represents a $10 million investment at TMMK, which will build
approximately 48,000 Camry Hybrid vehicles per year.
Photo: Toyota
TMMK was established in 1986 and
is Toyota's largest plant in North America. It employs
approximately 7,000 team members and currently builds the Camry,
Avalon and Solara. The plant has the capacity to build 500,000
vehicles annually. Since its inception, TMMK has built about 6.7
million vehicles, and the plant's current investment is $5.4
billion.
"We are proud, excited and honored
to be Toyota's first plant in North America to build a hybrid
vehicle," said Steve St. Angelo, President of TMMK. "It's a
great tribute to the tremendous ability and skill level of all
of our team members, who have been building the Camry, America's
number one selling sedan."
"America's hybrid leader
now sells a Camry hybrid made in America," said Don
Esmond, Toyota Motor Sales senior vice president,
Automotive Operations. "Production at the new Kentucky
plant marks an exciting chapter in Toyota's history and
a monumental step toward our ongoing commitment to
hybrid technology."
.
The Toyota Hybrid Synergy
Drive System consists of gas and electric power sources
that are complementary and produce a combined 187
horsepower. This system varies power between gas and
electric, or both, as needed.
The first-half of the system
consists of a 2.4 liter four cylinder engine, assembled at
TMMK's Power Train plant. The Atkinson-cycle engine generates
147 hp and is coupled to a continuously variable transmission.
The second half of the Hybrid
Synergy Drive equation consists of a small, high torque electric
motor that produces 141 horsepower, an ultra-small inverter with
a specially designed compact battery and a transaxle to provide
the economy and seamless performance hybrid drivers seek.
Photo: Toyota - Camry Hybrid
The Camry Hybrid joins a growing
Toyota and Lexus hybrid lineup in the U.S., which currently
includes the groundbreaking Toyota Prius, Lexus RX 400h luxury
hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV), Toyota Highlander Hybrid
mid-size SUV, and the 2007 Lexus GS 450h hybrid luxury sedan. In
2007, Lexus will be adding the LS 600h to the hybrid lineup.
Since Toyota began selling hybrid vehicles in North America in
2000, the company has sold approximately 420,000 hybrid vehicles
here. In 1997, Toyota became a pioneer in the industry by
launching the Prius, a mass-production hybrid vehicle with
outstanding environmental performance. Toyota has positioned
hybrid systems as a key technology for the twenty-first century
and is taking measures to promote the widespread use of hybrid
vehicles.
