Norm Bafunno, senior vice president of powertrain manufacturing and engineering at Toyota Motor North America, stated that Toyota would be partnering with Panasonic at the Liberty, North Carolina plant through its Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) joint venture. The Liberty plant is expected to open in 2025. For now, Toyota is planning on adding two production lines that are specifically designed for electric vehicle battery production at the Liberty plant. These new production lines would complement four lines that would be producing smaller batteries for hybrid vehicles.
