Toyota has started assembling the RAV4 hybrid at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant, the company announced, as part of a broader push to expand its US manufacturing footprint for electrified vehicles.
The move is tied to $2 billion in investment announced since 2024 and adds the all-new RAV4 hybrid to existing assembly lines at the Georgetown site. The plant is also scheduled to begin producing the Highlander battery electric vehicle in September of this year, according to a report by Just Auto.
The Georgetown operation is one of Toyota's largest outside Japan. It has received more than $12 billion in total investment since production began and has manufactured 15 million vehicles. The site employs nearly 10,000 people.
Toyota Kentucky president Kerry Creech marked the occasion with a statement connecting the new production milestone to the plant's longer history. "Making our customers smile by delivering high-quality vehicles like the all-new RAV4 hybrid has been our legacy for 40 years," Creech said. "The milestones we celebrate today reflect our team's commitment to sustainability and our unwavering promise to continue to deliver vehicles our customers love."
Alongside the new vehicle assembly, Toyota has begun construction of a new paint facility at the Georgetown site. The company said the new facility is expected to cut carbon emissions by 30% and reduce water use by around 1.5 million gallons annually.
The Kentucky expansion fits into a wider US electrification strategy for the Japanese automaker. Earlier this month, Toyota said it plans to start selling US-built Camry sedans in Japan later this year, a move aimed at reducing Japan's trade surplus with the United States and easing trade friction between the two countries. The company intends to ship right-hand-drive Camry models made at the Georgetown plant from autumn, with yearly volumes expected to reach 10,000 vehicles.
The RAV4 is one of Toyota's best-selling models globally, and the hybrid version has grown in popularity as fuel prices and consumer interest in fuel efficiency have increased. Starting production of that model in the United States adds domestic manufacturing capacity at a time when automakers are under pressure from tariffs and trade policy to build more vehicles on American soil.
The Highlander BEV launch in September will mark another step for the Georgetown plant into fully electric vehicle production, a segment Toyota has been slower to enter than some competitors but is now expanding more aggressively.
