From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
HUNTSVILLE –Alabama’s already booming auto manufacturing industry may be on the verge of a boost from a major announcement.
Multiple media sources from across the country are reporting that Huntsville, Ala. is expected to be announced as the choice for the Toyota and Mazda $1.6 billion assembly plant. Additionally, The News and Observer in North Carolina, Alabama’s rival for the plant, is reporting that North Carolina has lost out.
“North Carolina has lost out on landing the much sought-after Toyota-Mazda joint auto manufacturing plant, which would have brought 4,000 jobs to the state and invested $1.6 billion,” the newspaper reported.
Sources told the newspaper that they lost out because North Carolina does not have the supply chain logistics that the car companies want.
Alabama’s strong manufacturing sector and the fact that more than 1 million vehicles were produced in 2016 at plants employing nearly 40,000 workers were seen as strengths for the state. New state tax incentives were also part of the attraction.
The Toyota Corolla is among the several models expected to be built at the new plant.
“Job-creating projects of this magnitude are rare,” USA Today reported. “It would be only the fourth new U.S. assembly plant in about the last decade when it opens in 2021.”
One Comment
Kathy Sills
So exciting