Toyota & Mazda pick Huntsville for their new plant

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (WDEF) – Toyota-Mazda officials make it official.

They have chosen to build a new auto plant at a site in Huntsville, Alabama.

It will build 300,000 Toyota Corollas and a new small SUV from Mazda (a Chattanooga Volkswagen rival) a year.

The plant will hire about 4,000 workers.

Governor Kay Ivie said “This is indeed a great day in Alabama.”

And it will have an impact on its neighbors.

While plenty of Tennesseans are likely to find jobs at the plant, the state will actually drop on the auto making list as a result.

Alabama and Tennessee were tied for 5th on producing vehicle in the U.S.

The new plant will push Alabama to fourth.

Already Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai have assembly plants in the state, plus Hyundai and Toyota are making engines there.

North Carolina is once again, the state left looking in.

They were the other rumored finalist for the new plant.

And they remain one of the few southeastern states without a big auto plant.

North Carolina politicians have historically refused to offer big tax breaks to lure companies.

Republican state Rep. Jeff Collins, who represents the area recruiting Toyota and Mazda, stands by that tradition.

He says the state’s fiscal conservatism has encouraged substantial hiring by small- and medium-sized businesses that will never make headlines, but generate most employment.

The Alabama plant is scheduled to open in 2021.

It will be the largest assembly plant built in the U.S. by a Japanese auto maker.