Citing "people involved" in the decision-making process, The Times said a site near Greensboro was on the short list.
However, a spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Commerce would neither confirm nor deny the report.
Citing the intense competitiveness for industrial and job recruitment, the spokesman told WRAL.com: "As a general policy, we don't get into discussions whether we are or not working with any company in any capacity."
A spokesman for the Piedmont Triad Partnership, an economic development organization, declined having any knowledge about Toyota's plans.
Also being considered are sites near Chattanooga, Tenn., Roanoke, Va. and northeast Arkansas, The Times said.
A member of the governor's administration in Virginia told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that Toyota has in fact approached the state about building a plant there.
Whether Toyota will even decide to build an eighth assembly plant in the United States is not certain, The Times said.
Toyota is the world's second largest automotive manufacturer behind General Motors.
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