MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama has entered the fast lane in its bid to become a major auto making hub in the South, landing a coveted $1.6 billion joint venture plant of Toyota and Mazda that is to eventually employ thousands.
The new plant will be located in Huntsville, Alabama – already a hub for the region’s aerospace industry – and will produce 300,000 vehicles per year, a combination of the Toyota Corolla compact car and a new small crossover SUV from Mazda. Production is expected to begin by 2021.
Toyota and Mazda will join Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai which operate assembly plants in Alabama. The Center for Automotive Research says Alabama is tied with Tennessee as the fifth-largest producer of vehicles in the country last year, according to the Center for Automotive Research
Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. president, speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Mark Yarbrough, Limestone County Commission chairman, Tommy Battle, Huntsville mayor, Greg Canfield, Alabama Secretary of Commerce, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Masamichi Kogai, Mazda Motor Corp. president and CEO, Masahiro Moro, Mazda Motor of America Inc. president and CEO, Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. president, and James Lentz, Toyota North America CEO, during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., The automakers Toyota and Mazda announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Governor Kay Ivey looks on during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers Mazda and Toyota announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Masamichi Kogai, Mazda Motor Corp. president and CEO, speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers Mazda and Toyota announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Akio Toyoda, right, Toyota Motor Corp., speaks as Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, center, Masamichi Kogai, Mazda Motor Corp. president and CEO, listen during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, right, Masamichi Kogai, Mazda Motor Corp. president and CEO, and Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. president, applaud during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey thanks, from left, Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. president, and Masamichi Kogai, Mazda Motor Corp. president and CEO, during a press conference, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Montgomery, Ala., where the Japanese automakers announced plans to build a huge $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville, that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Several states had competed for the coveted project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
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