Toyota, Mazda Announce Huntsville as Site for New Plant
Mazda and Toyota announced Huntsville as the city of choice for a new manufacturing plant on Wednesday.
Mazda Motor Corporation CEO Masamichi Kogai and Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda made the announcement alongside Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey that the north Alabama city had been selected as the site for a joint-venture manufacturing plant. Both corporations expect to invest a total of $1.6 billion into the project, a site that is anticipated to produce 300,000 vehicles annually starting in 2021. The project is expected to create 4,000 new jobs at a median salary of $50,000 a year.
The partnership comes as Mazda looks to build its presence in the US auto market and marks a bigger commitment to US ventures from Toyota, with the new site being built just miles away from its Huntsville motor manufacturing facility. “Our investment to establish a new vehicle assembly plant with Mazda builds on the very success we have enjoyed in Alabama,” Toyoda said in a statement. “We are committed to becoming a ‘best-in-town company’ in the city of Huntsville and the state of Alabama.”
Huntsville was chosen after a major bidding competition involving 12 states, the closest competitor being North Carolina. In a move to secure the bid, an incentive package was put together by the state totaling nearly $400 million dollars. According to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce, this includes jobs and investment credits worth an estimated $300 million dollars over the next 10 years, as well as sales and property tax abatements.
The announcement has been welcomed by local and state officials, with U.S. Sen. Doug Jones calling the decision “a tremendous step forward for Alabama’s growing technology sector and our ability to recruit quality businesses in the future.” Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle said the new site “vaults Alabama to the top as an industry leader in producing the next generation of cars that will power our nation.”
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat
Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.
Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers
While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home?
Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.
Breaking down Alabama’s CHOOSE Act
It’s been a year since Alabama legislators passed the CHOOSE Act allowing families to apply for state funds to use towards homeschool expenses and tuition for participating private schools. The Alabama Daily News’ education reporter Trisha Powell Crain has been diving into how the funds are being used. WBHM’s Andrew Gelderman sat down with her to talk about what we’re seeing so far.
