Mazda and Toyota just announced that Huntsville, Alabama, has been selected as the location for a new auto manufacturing plant. The two Japanese companies are pooling their resources to build the facility, investing some $1.6 billion with the aim of producing 300,000 units annually.
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Back in August, Toyota and Mazda announced a partnership to co-develop electric vehicle technology for consumer cars. Now, the two Japanese automakers are once again joining forces, this time to bolster their production power. The joint-venture manufacturing plant will represent investments totaling $1.6 billion split evenly between Mazda and Toyota, with the 300,000-unit annual capacity also split evenly between Mazda and Toyota models. Toyota will produce the Corolla, while Mazda will produce an as-of-yet unannounced crossover.
Mazda President and CEO Masamichi Kogai, as well as Toyota President Akio Toyoda, announced the news today alongside Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.
“With this announcement, our world changes overnight,” said Mayor Battle. “Mazda and Toyota, two of the world's most innovative automakers, have created a legacy project that will provide jobs for decades to come for Huntsville and Alabama.
This will be the eleventh manufacturing facility Toyota owns in the U.S., arriving as a continuation of the company's goals to invest $10 billion in U.S. manufacturing over the next five years. Toyota's facilities are spread across 10 U.S. states, including Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Indiana. The southern U.S. states are seen as particularly favorable for automakers, as they generally provide a solid transportation infrastructure, anti-union policies, and less regulation. Daimler and Honda also operate plants in Alabama.
No doubt, this announcement will prompt a victory tweet or two from Donald Trump, and lend credence to the the President’s campaign promise to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
The new plant will open in 2021.
References
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