Mazda and Toyota are to build a new 300,000-capacity joint venture manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama. The two companies said last summer that they will build a JV plant in the US as part of a business and capital alliance, but the location was not yet fixed.
Production at the plant – planned to start operations in 2021 – will be split evenly between two lines for each company. Mazda is planning a crossover model that will be newly introduced to the North American market and Toyota plans to build the Corolla.
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The joint venture represents a $1.6 billion investment with Mazda and Toyota planning to make equal funding contributions.
The site for the new plant is in Huntsville, located approximately 14 miles from Toyota’s Alabama plant (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc.). The facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. Production is expected to begin by 2021.
Mazda Motor Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Masamichi Kogai and Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda joined Gov. Ivey and Mayor Battle for the announcement.
“Mazda makes cars with a clear vision of how we want to inspire people, contribute to society and help preserve the beauty of the earth. By making such cars here in Alabama, we hope that over time our plant will come to occupy a special place in the hearts of our employees and the local community. By making this plant a vibrant part of that community, we hope to work, learn and grow together with the people of Alabama and Huntsville,” Kogai said.
For Toyota, the joint-venture plant will be its 11th US manufacturing facility.
“Our investment to establish a new vehicle assembly plant with Mazda builds on the strong success we have enjoyed in Alabama where we produce engines for the North American market,” Toyoda said.
The State of Alabama is the fifth largest producer of cars and light trucks in the US with a strong automotive manufacturing presence including Toyota’s engine plant in Huntsville (700,000 engines produced pa), where Toyota employs 1,400. With more than 150 Tier 1 and 2 automotive suppliers in the state as well as automakers, there are approximately 57,000 automotive manufacturing jobs in Alabama.
