Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. have just joined forces to build one of America’s largest production facilities, capable of producing 300,000 new vehicles every year (mostly electric). The new plant will cost an estimated $1.6 billion and would employ over 4,000 people.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the two companies are currently looking at 11 states to build the new plant in, including; Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas.
Bloomberg noted that since the auto manufacturers want to get in the good graces of more US senators and would likely want to avoid unions, it would make sense to target a southern state where they don’t already have a plant.
“They might decide they want to knock off another two U.S. senators by picking a new state. North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas could be stronger candidates, since they’re states that don’t already have a Japanese assembly plant,” commented independent auto analyst Alan Baum.
As part of the partnership, Toyota will receive a 5% equity stake in Mazda, and Mazda will receive a 0.25% equity stake in Toyota.
The partnership agreement states that the two companies will specifically work together to:
- Establish a joint venture that produces vehicles in the U.S.
- Jointly develop technologies for electric vehicles
- Develop connected-car technology
- Collaborate on advanced safety technologies
- Expand complementary products
For several years, Toyota has been building alliances with smaller rivals to maintain its global dominance of the auto industry.
They now own a 16.5% stake in Subaru and are currently courting compact car maker Suzuki to cooperate on R&D and parts supply.