Toyota Plans 400,000 Factory Robots, 1 Trillion Yen a Year From 2028
A humanoid robot is a machine built around the human form, with arms and hands that take over tasks people do today. Its first mass workplace is the car plant, not the home: Toyota, the world's largest automaker, plans to spend about 1 trillion yen a year from 2028 on automation that needs roughly 400,000 robots.
What Toyota's 400,000-Robot Plan Includes
According to Reuters, Toyota told investors in September that modernizing its plants, group companies and major suppliers will cost about 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) a year from 2028. The roughly 400,000 robots include humanoid and industrial machines. Nikkei reported the split as 150,000 in Toyota plants and 250,000 at group firms and suppliers. Toyota gave no end date for the spending.
Why Toyota's ELEY Humanoid Robot Rolls Instead of Walks
The lead machine is the in-house ELEY (Embodied Learning robot for Enhanced Yield). It moves on wheels rather than legs, has two-finger hands and weighs 50 kg. ELEY learns through physical AI (AI that learns by acting in the real world): it watches skilled workers and mastered T-shirt folding from 1,500 demonstrations in two weeks. Toyota wants the skills of 18,000 master craftsmen across 60 plants to flow into its robots. "We aim for a world where robots coexist with humans, rather than replacing them," said Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima.
So How Does This Affect You?
For US readers, this is a three-way race on the factory floor. Tesla ended Model S and X production at Fremont to build Optimus lines, with Musk targeting 1 million units a year. Hyundai plans Boston Dynamics' Atlas at its Georgia plant from 2028, at 30,000 a year. Toyota now brings the largest number of all. Tesla and Hyundai chose legs; Toyota chose wheels, so the humanoid's very shape is in play.
Why Automakers Are Becoming Robot Makers
Automakers are turning to robots to cope with labor shortages, aging plants and rising costs. When the biggest robot buyers build their own, the auto supply chain widens into actuators, sensors and training data. Bernstein analysts expect investors to reprice Toyota for growth beyond cars.
Key Takeaways
① 1 trillion yen a year, 400,000 robots - starts in 2028, covering group companies and suppliers.
② Wheeled humanoid ELEY - wheels, two-finger hands, 50 kg, trained by 18,000 craftsmen.
③ Three giants, one race - after Tesla's Optimus and Hyundai's Atlas, Toyota enters with the biggest number yet.
Factories are becoming robot schools. Sizing up an automaker may soon mean counting the robots it runs and trains, not just the cars it sells.
👉 XPeng IRON Humanoid Mass Production Line Opens in Guangzhou (2026) - also worth a read.
📌 Sources: Reuters, Nikkei, Automotive World, Toyota, TechCrunch, Axios, CNBC (2026)
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