Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

Electronics company Toshiba Corporation said it will expand its manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas, to produce drive motors for electrified vehicles.

The company said the project would mean setting up its first automotive propulsion systems production facility outside its native Japan.

Currently, it produces systems in Mie Prefecture on Japan’s Honsh? island.

The expansion in Houston comes after the company won a contract to supply propulsion systems for the Ford Motor Company.

From 2012, Toshiba will produce propulsion motors in Houston for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and electric vehicles, it said yesterday.

“Toshiba recognizes the importance of localizing production within North America to ensure long term growth and make a commitment to the North American market,” said Shinichiro Akiba, President of Toshiba International Corporation.

Toshiba said it had a strategy of growing the “promising business” in the electrified vehicle market as a new generation of electric transport emerges.

The company believes the global market for all kinds of electrified road vehicles will grow from 50 billion yen in 2009 to 1 trillion yen in 2020.

It will use its Houston production facilities as a base to grow its presence in the US market, it said.

Ford is preparing to launch five new electrified vehicle models from 2011, including an electric Transit Connect and a Focus Electric (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

“We welcome Toshiba’s decision to locate this new production in the United States,” said Sherif Marakby, Director, Electrification Programs and Engineering, Ford Motor Company. “This key technology will help build U.S. capacity and supply of components to further enable vehicle electrification in the North American market.”