Long known for providing the get-up-and-go for many of Toyota’s most popular vehicles, Toyota West Virginia (TMMWV) announced on Thursday, November 11, a new $240 million investment to add a dedicated production line of hybrid transaxles.

The new hybrid transaxle line investment will provide new equipment and operational upgrades to modernize the facility. One important result of the new line is that it will allow TMMWV team members to diversify their skillset and play a larger role in Toyota’s future producing electric vehicles in North America.

“Toyota West Virginia is preparing for future market needs as demand increases in the area of vehicle electrification,” said Srini Matam, president of TMMWV. “The investment will fund targeted improvements that will increase our flexibility and competitiveness, allowing us to be in a better position to directly respond to shifting customer demand for higher efficiency vehicles.”

Hybrid vehicle systems combine two separate sources of propulsion or motive power, such as an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, to take advantage of their respective benefits while also compensating for their respective limitations. While a hybrid system adds vehicle mass with the addition of components and is more complex than a conventional vehicle, the same system allows the vehicle to be more efficient and a hybrid transaxle can effectively transfer power seamlessly between the engine, electric motor and wheels in any number of combinations.

Toyota has committed to offering an electrified option across its entire lineup of both Toyota and Lexus vehicles by 2025. Advancing its production of electrified vehicles and their components, such as these hybrid transaxles, plays a part in helping Toyota to achieve its goals for carbon neutrality.