Toyota to invest $126M in Ann Arbor Technical Center

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will invest $126 million in its Ann Arbor Technical Center to expand powertrain operations and consolidate vehicle development operations at a new facility on its York Township campus.

As part of the investment, Toyota will relocate 85 jobs from California to Michigan.

“The Technical Center continues to be a vital part of our growing North American operations that enables Toyota to package greater value for our customers,” Ed Mantey, senior vice president at the Toyota Technical Center, said in a statement. “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.”

In late 2013, Toyota announced a $28 million expansion of its Ann Arbor operations and earlier this year said it would add 250 purchasing jobs currently based in Erlanger, Ky. The Michigan Strategic Fund in August awarded the automaker a $4 million grant for the move.

In addition to the August grant, Toyota received a State Education Tax Abatement with an estimated value of about $1.3 million.

Toyota currently employs about 1,100 workers in Michigan.

Toyota does much of the research and development for U.S. models in Michigan, overseeing development for the Avalon, Camry, Sienna, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and RAV4 EV. The Toyota Technical Center was established in 1977 and has facilities in Ann Arbor, Saline, Plymouth and Livonia.

The investment here comes as the automaker establishes a new headquarters for its North American operations in Texas, and focuses on expanding locations in Michigan and Kentucky.

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