Toyota Chief: New Alabama Plant Is a ‘built-in-America Success Story'

Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor announced on Wednesday that they have chosen Huntsville, Alabama, for a $1.6 billion car plant.The two Japanese companies said they expected the plant to open in 2021 and have the capacity to make up to 300,000 cars a year. It will employ about 4,000 people directly and is expected to create thousands of related jobs."This is indeed a great day in Alabama," Gov. Kay Ivey said at a news conference in Montgomery.The new plant will be Toyota's fifth in the United States, joining assembly factories in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi and Texas. The company also has an engine plant in Huntsville that will be expanded to supply the new factory.Toyota's chief executive, Akio Toyoda, said he was confident the plant would be a "built-in-America success story."Huntsville is home to a number of aerospace manufacturers and has a highly educated workforce. "We can't wait to see 'Made in Alabama' in those vehicles rolling down the assembly line," said Greg Canfield, Alabama's secretary of commerce. "I have no doubt the Toyota-Mazda manufacturing facility will take Huntsville to new heights."  Continue reading...