Automakers Mazda and Toyota have established a new joint venture company to oversee the construction of a $1.6bn auto manufacturing plant in Alabama, US.
The new JV firm, dubbed Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, U.S.A. (MTMUS), will shortly start land preparation for the plant.
The new plant, which will be located in Huntsville about 14 miles from Toyota’s plant, It will be capable of manufacturing 300,000 vehicles per year.
The plant, which is expected to begin operations by 2021, will create about 4000 new jobs in the region. The JV is an even 50-50 split between Mazda and Toyota.
MTMUS plant will build 150,000 units of a new Mazda SUV per year and 150,000 units of the Corolla compact for Toyota each year.
Full-scale construction of the facility is anticipated to begin next year. For Toyota, this JV plant will be its eleventh manufacturing facility in the US.
In January 2017, Toyota announced that it will invest $10bn in the US over the next five years.
Toyota executive general manager and MTMUS's executive vice president Hironori Kagohashi said: "We are committed to realizing a highly competitive plant and producing vehicles with the best quality for customers by combining Toyota and Mazda's manufacturing expertise and leveraging the joint venture's synergies.
"Based on this competitiveness, we will make every effort to becoming a best-in-town plant that will be loved by our hometown.”
Mazda executive officer Masashi Aihara, who will serve as president of MTMUS, said: "By combining the best of our technologies and corporate cultures, Mazda and Toyota will not only produce high-quality cars but also create a plant employees will be proud to work at and contribute to the further development of the local economy and the automotive industry."
Toyota and Mazda began their business and capital alliance in August last year. As part of the alliance, the two companies have agreed to establish a JV to produce vehicles in the US, jointly develop technologies for electric vehicles and connected-car technologies and to collaborate on advanced safety technologies.
