The countdown is on for the arrival of the long-awaited all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra due out later this year. Engine production is now underway at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama (TMMAL). Earlier this month, TMMAL celebrated the first new Tundra engine products to roll off its assembly line.
The new Tundra will offer two new engines: a hybrid electric powered twin-turbo V6 engine and a gas-powered twin-turbo V6 engine. While the Tundra's s engine parts are being assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama (TMMAL), the Tundra will continue to be built at Toyota's San Antonio, Texas plant.
Toyota says the engines usher in the next era of powertrains being assembled at its Huntsville, Alabama plant. The new twin-turbo V6 engine line was part of a $288 million investment that also added 450 new jobs, boosting the Huntsville plant’s total employment to 1,800. Toyota announced the project in 2019 and completion of this project marked the fifth expansion at Toyota Alabama. Overall, Toyota Alabama’s total cumulative investment is $1.2 billion.
Toyota's Alabama plant is the sole producer of both new engine models for the 2022 Tundra in North America, something Toyota says creates long–term employment stability for plant workers.
“Our team members in Alabama recognize the confidence and trust Toyota places in us since we are the only plant selected to build engines for the all-new Tundra,” shared Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama. “Launching the new twin-turbo V6 line and celebrating our 20th anniversary remind us here just how lucky we are to have such incredible team members who have made Toyota Alabama known as ‘the engine capital of the world.’”
Credit: Toyota.
The new engines are being built on the longest Toyota engine line in North America, measuring 142 yards. The V6 Turbo line will produce a new engine every 58 seconds, with a capacity to build 18,000 engines each month. These additional engines push the total capacity for Toyota Alabama engine production to up to 900,000 engines per year.
The Tundra's standard i-FORCE 3.5L twin-turbo delivers up to 389-horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. The i-FORCE MAX powertrain offers up to 437-hp and 583 lb.-ft. of torque, making it the most powerful engine in the Toyota lineup.
“For the last 20 years, our state and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama have shared a mutually beneficial relationship that has created remarkable outcomes for Alabamians,” Governor Kay Ivey said. “Toyota’s $288 million investment to produce the all-new twin-turbo V6 engine continues to demonstrate that Alabama is not only open for business, but is the best place to do business.”
The all-new 2022 Tundra goes on sale later this year.