Toyota is looking to bring the automation of its factories to an unprecedented scale. The company estimates that it could need around 400,000 robots by 2028, a figure that includes conventional industrial machinery and new solutions for manufacturing and logistics.
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The proposal would also involve a considerable investment. According to Reuters, Toyota estimates spending close to 1 trillion yen per year, about $6.4 billion, although there is still no approved budget or a defined deadline to maintain that level of investment.
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Toyota is not talking about filling its plants with hundreds of thousands of robots with human shape.
Most of that figure would be for industrial equipment used to replace old machinery, automate processes and expand production capacities. Humanoid robots are part of the company’s research, but still represent a very small portion of this market.
To put this in perspective, during 2025 approximately 7,000 humanoid robots intended for industrial applications and professional services were sold. The scale that Toyota poses is, therefore, in another dimension.
Some factories require modernization and, at the same time, finding workers for certain tasks is becoming increasingly complicated.
Toyota intends to use robots in repetitive, heavy or difficult tasks, while reserving employees functions that require other capabilities. The company also explains that these technologies can contribute to improving working conditions.
The betting is not just about removing people from production lines.The company investigates how to get workers and robots to collaborate within the same processes.
Toyota also develops robotic solutions capable of learning certain tasks from human movements. One of its projects is ELEY, a mobile robot with which the company investigates new ways to incorporate skills into automated systems.
Hyundai, for example, has announced plans to use humanoid robots in U.S. operations from 2028.
For Toyota, the challenge will be to turn decades of experience in industrial automation into smarter and more versatile machines. Humanoids may have an advantage in developing in spaces designed for people, but they still need to demonstrate that they can work safely, repetitively and cost-effectively.
