Place Your Bets: Toyota, Mazda Narrow Factory Site to Two States

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Alabama and North Carolina are the final states left in the running for Toyota and Mazda’s $1.6 billion collaborative production venture. Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina are now out of the running but, as you know, there can only be one.

Which state is the smart money on? Your guess is as good as ours, but Toyota does already have an engine manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama. It might make sense to keep things centrally located, especially if it NAFTA falls through and Toyota has to shift Corolla production back to Mexico and bring the Tacoma into the states. Of course, if that doesn’t happen, a factory closer to West Virginia and the little 2ZR-FE DOHC might be preferable.

Of course, with both companies pressing for a billion-dollar incentive package to build on U.S. soil, the final decision may come down to whichever state is willing to provide the better deal.

Based on Toyota’s August announcement, the site will have an annual capacity of around 300,000 units and will create some 4,000 jobs.

The shared factory is expected to open in 2021 and would be the first new auto assembly plant to be announced under President Donald Trump — who has been both pressuring and praising Toyota (and other manufacturers) over building vehicles in the United States. A final decision is expected to be announced by the automakers early next year.

[Source: Automotive News] [Image: Toyota]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • I_like_stuff I_like_stuff on Nov 14, 2017

    Blue states begging Amazon to build HQ2 with gajillions of tax incentives: AWESOME MAN!! Red States providing moderate tax incentives to build cars there....worst thing since the beginning of time Ahh to be a liberal.....

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    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Nov 15, 2017

      @hubcap "Are you saying that if I wanted to purchase a part; year, make and model wouldn’t be sufficient, I’d also need country of origin?" Exactly! To wit: parts for my 1989 Japan-built Camry V6. and parts for my grand daughter's 2008 Japan-built Highlander 4x4. Both are getting hard to find. Special order maybe, 'cause no one stocks parts for Japan-built vehicles like CV-boots, radiators, etc, and nut/bolt threads are not the same.

  • Whatnext Whatnext on Nov 14, 2017

    I'm sure Roy Moore would throw in some sweet young, young things to sweeten the Alabama pot.

  • Threeer Threeer on Nov 15, 2017

    Being from Huntsville, I'm hoping for Alabama.

  • Daniel J Daniel J on Nov 15, 2017

    I hesitantly hope Alabama. I live just down the road from the plant in Huntsville, AL. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. The problem is that Toyota hires X number, and farms another Y number from employment services. The number always changes, but the temporary or contract employees make much less and have worse benefits. Some are on for years and are promised permanent employment and it never happens.

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    • Bullnuke Bullnuke on Nov 15, 2017

      It's been that way at Honda in Ohio since the beginning. Using temps makes things easier for the fluctuating head counts needed for fluctuating production requirements. In past years very few were permitted to apply for full-time Honda associate positions. I'm fairly certain that this hasn't changed.

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