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.”
Sunday Puzzle: Rhyme Time
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with WBUR listener Laurie Rose and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
Alcaraz beats Djokovic to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam
The 22-year-old Spaniard's win against 38-year-old rival Novak Djokovic at Sunday's Australian Open makes him the youngest male player to win all four major tournaments.
You already know the song — now, ‘The One About the Blackbird’ is also a picture book
In The One About the Blackbird, a young boy learns to play guitar from his grandfather. And there's one song in particular that they love…
In the world’s driest desert, Chile freezes its future to protect plants
Tucked away in a remote desert town, a hidden vault safeguards Chile's most precious natural treasures. From long-forgotten flowers to endangered crops.
At a clown school near Paris, failure is the lesson
For decades, students at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier have been paying to bomb onstage. The goal isn't laughs — it's learning how to take the humiliation and keep going.
Iran’s supreme leader warns any US attack would spark ‘regional war’
Iran's supreme leader warned Sunday that any attack by the United States would spark a "regional war" in the Mideast, further escalating tensions as President Donald Trump has threatened to militarily strike the Islamic Republic.
