THEN 1998 – the Toyota Mazda JV plant in Alabama. Some assembly required.
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, (MTM), the joint-venture between Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, have announced an additional $830 million investment for more manufacturing technologies to its production lines and provide enhanced training to its workforce of up to 4,000 employees in Huntsville, Alabama. Full-scale construction of the plant continues, with 75%-100% completion on roofing, siding, floor slabs, ductwork, fire protection and electrical. (See AutoInformed.com on Mazda and Toyota Establish JV to build Vehicles in Alabama, Mazda-Toyota Plant Under Construction in U.S., Toyota Shifts Plans at Its Mazda JV Plant in Alabama to SUVS)
Total funding slated for the facility is now $2.311 billion, up from the $1.6 billion originally announced in 2018. The investment is said to reaffirm Mazda and Toyota’s commitment to produce the highest-quality products at the facility.
It also insiders say makes production line enhancements made to improve processes supporting unannounced Mazda vehicle and design changes and to the thus far unknown Toyota SUV that will be produced at the plant.
NOW!
The new facility will have the capacity to produce up to 150,000 units of a future Mazda crossover vehicle and up to 150,000 units of the Toyota SUV each year. MTM continues to target up to 4,000 new jobs and has hired approximately 600 employees to date, with plans to resume accepting applications for production positions later in 2020.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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