A whopping $ 1.6 billion. This is what Toyota and Mazda will invest in building a manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The US-based hybrid plant, announced in May 2016, will open in 2021 and employ up to 4,000 people who produce up to 300,000 vehicles per year.
The Huntsville facility is located approximately 150 miles from the Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa Plant and 15 miles from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc. and is described by both parties as a “long-term mutually beneficial partnership”. “This means that Toyota will acquire 5.05% of Mazda while Mazda will receive 0.25%.
The next-generation Toyota Corollas will be on the assembly line at Toyota's eleventh production facility in the United States and the second in Alabama. Meanwhile, Mazda has announced that it will be working with the North American office “to introduce a new and different class of SUV,” a cryptic and bloody phrase if you think about it for a minute.
The state of Alabama is currently the fifth largest light truck manufacturer in the United States. A. Jobs in the cotton state.
“The Mazda-Toyota partnership will expand innovative automotive manufacturing to Alabama,” said Governor Kay Ivey. “Your decision to build this new facility in Huntsville is testament to our state's talented workforce. We pride ourselves that this partnership puts Alabama at the forefront of technology in this dynamic global industry.
In addition to the new production plant, Mazda and Toyota brought us some other surprises as well. First there's electrification technology, which they both have in common, and then there's the rotating extension motor, but that's not all. If the wildest rumors are to be believed, the next-generation Mazda6 is expected to switch to rear-wheel drive thanks to the FR platform developed by Toyota. The same backbone should help the RX-9 rotating sports car to grow.
