Toyota Boosting Michigan Research And Development With $126M Expansion
ANN ARBOR TWP. (WWJ/AP) - Toyota Motor Corp. is further boosting its research and development work in southeastern Michigan.
The automaker announced Thursday that it's investing $126 million in the expansion of its powertrain operations in Ann Arbor Township and consolidating vehicle development operations at a new facility in nearby York Township.
Both powertrain and vehicle development are being centralized in Michigan. As part of those moves, about 85 jobs will relocate from California by the end of 2016.
"Centralizing our vehicle development and powertrain functions here in Michigan is beneficial for our decision-making process and allows us to better respond to changes in the marketplace while improving the speed at which we can offer technology advances to customers," Ed Mantey, senior vice president at the Toyota Technical Center, said in a statement.
Toyota announced a $28 million expansion of its Ann Arbor operations late last year. In August, it said it was building a new facility in York Township and relocating positions from its North American manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, Kentucky.
The southern Washtenaw County center serves as the corporation's research and development arm in North America, and is responsible for the development of vehicles that are built and sold throughout the continent.
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