Toyota Motor will spend $10 billion in U. S. capital investments over the next five years, matching the Japanese automaker’s investments over the prior five years, North America chief executive Jim Lentz said on Monday.
The automaker has come under fire from President-elect Donald Trump for announcing in 2015 plans to shift production of its Corolla to Mexico from Canada. Lentz said in an interview at the Detroit auto show the decision is not a response to Trump but part of the automaker’s business strategy to invest in the United States, where it has 10 plants in eight states.
Lentz said the planning for the new Mexico plant began about two years — if not earlier — before it was announced in 2015.
