Toyota, Mazda to Open Shared Plant in Alabama

Toyota and Mazda have settled on Alabama as the site of their shared plant that will open in 2021.

The factory will be in Huntsville, Alabama, located 14 miles from Toyota’s engine plant there. It will produce 300,000 vehicles a year and employ as many as 4,000 people. The automakers will receive two production lines each, and they are sharing the cost of building the $1.6 billion factory.

In November, it was reported that the automakers had narrowed down the candidates to Alabama and North Carolina. Prior to that, they were reportedly considering more than a dozen states.

Toyota will build the Corolla at the new factory, while Mazda will produce a crossover that will be newly introduced to North America. But this plant is just one part of the joint venture announced between the two companies. Last year, Toyota and Mazda agreed to co-develop electric vehicles, connected-car systems, and safety technologies. They also announced small capital tie-ups, with Toyota gaining 5.05 percent of Mazda and Mazda getting 0.25 percent of Toyota.

According to Kristin Dziczek from the Center for Automotive Research, Alabama accounts for 9 percent of auto production in the U.S. It tied with Tennessee for fifth place in the U.S. last year, behind Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

With the addition of the new plant, Toyota will have 11 manufacturing plants across the U.S. Mazda currently doesn’t have a manufacturing presence in the U.S.

Source: Toyota, Mazda, Reuters

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