Five Questions With Don Stewart, President of Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina

Don Stewart discusses Toyota’s first U.S. battery plant, its growth, $13.9B investment, and workforce plans in North Carolina. Read the full interview.

Don Stewart, a 28-year Toyota veteran, now leads the company’s first battery manufacturing plant outside Japan — Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC). His appointment as president in May 2025 marked the start of a new phase in Toyota’s electrification strategy.

Before taking the helm, Stewart spent three years guiding production operations at the same facility, helping to shape its systems and culture from the ground up. His leadership combines Japanese precision with American pragmatism — a balance that mirrors Toyota’s identity during a crucial shift in the global auto industry.

TBMNC has quickly become the heart of Toyota’s North American lithium-ion battery program. Covering more than 7 million square feet on a 1,850-acre site, the plant will operate 14 production lines — four for hybrid batteries and ten for electric vehicles. Shipments began in April 2025, with full-scale production ramping up by June.

The investment totals $13.9 billion, making TBMNC one of the largest industrial projects in North Carolina’s history. The facility will employ about 5,100 people and already partners with local institutions — including North Carolina A&T State University and Randolph Community College — to train the next generation of engineers and technicians.

A core part of TBMNC’s mission is closed-loop sustainability. Toyota collaborates with Redwood Materials to incorporate recycled nickel, lithium, and cobalt into cathodes and 100% recycled copper into anodes. In parallel, Toyota Tsusho America and LG Energy Solution are developing a preprocessing plant in Winston-Salem to handle production scrap and recover key materials.

The official line-off ceremony — marking the symbolic start of operations — is expected by the end of 2025. For Don Stewart, it will represent more than a milestone: a moment when nearly three decades at Toyota culminate in a bridge between global kaizen philosophy and local innovation in the future of electrified mobility.