The jointly owned-and-operated automotive production plant in the Limestone County portion of Huntsville is expected to create 4,000 jobs and accelerate growth in Alabamas auto sector.
Executives of Mazda and Toyota joined Governor Kay Ivey, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and local officials at a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the official start of construction at the 2,000-acre site.
We are proud to be here with Toyota, with whom we share the bond of pride in manufacturing, said Kiyotaka Shobuda, Mazdas senior managing executive officer. We are proud to be breaking ground on a new home here in Huntsville a city that believes in the possibilities of technology and manufacturing, and has striven to realize mankinds greatest dream.
At the end of the ceremony, an industrial robot armed with a shovel plunged the blade into a patch of dirt and raised it while Sweet Home Alabama played.
BRIGHT FUTURE
The new assembly plant will produce the next-generation Toyota Corolla, which debuted Thursday in California, and a yet-to-be-revealed Mazda crossover model.
The facility is located just miles away from a Toyota engine plant that employs 1,400 people and produces more than 700,000 engines annually. The automaker has invested nearly $1 billion in the Huntsville plant, after repeated expansions.
“It is extremely special to have a partner like Mazda to team up with not only to make the highest-quality cars, but also to create a plant that team members are proud to call their own,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “As we’ve seen at our Huntsville engine plant, Alabamians are a proud, talented, hard-working group. We are excited to continue our deep investment in the U.S. and Alabama and see nothing but a bright future.”
The investment in the new assembly plant is being split evenly between the automakers. They say the alliance will assure competitiveness in manufacturing, allowing both automakers to respond quickly to market changes and helping to ensure sustainable growth.
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