Toyota to drop $100 million and 65 jobs into research institute in Ann Arbor

Toyota isn’t coming to Michigan for its renowned labor forces or plentiful industrial pickings. The automaker is expanding its presence in Ann Arbor because of the state’s brain power.

 

Toyota will invest $100 million in its Ann Arbor-based Technical Center over the next four months to establish the Toyota Research Institute of North America. That investment will create 35 research positions initially and about 65 total by 2010.

 

Oh yeah, not to mention the significant ego boost of a respected brand name like Toyota choosing your community over the rest of the world.

 

“Toyota‘s decision to establish the Toyota Research Institute in Ann Arbor to direct advanced research activities for North America is another piece of good news for Michigan,” says Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm. “Toyota‘s decision demonstrates that Michigan is a leading state for research and offers an attractive business climate for companies to grow.”

The research institute will tackle sustainable mobility issues, such as advanced technologies, urban environment, energy and partnerships with government and academia. These efforts will be directed by Noboru Kikuchi, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Michigan and director of Toyota‘s Central Research & Development Laboratories.

 

“Creating the Toyota Research Institute is the next step to strengthen Toyota‘s advanced research function throughout North America and to discover cutting-edge technologies for sustainable mobility,” Kikuchi says.

 

Toyota has had a significant presence in the Ann Arbor area since 1977 at the Toyota Technical Center. Much of the engineering for its North American products is done by the hundreds of employees at the center just outside of Ann Arbor.

Source: Toyota

Writer: Jon Zemke