Automakers plan new U.S. plant
Toyota and Mazda to build $1.6B facility
Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda plan to announce Friday that they will build a $1.6 billion vehicle assembly plant in the USA that would create 4,000 jobs, a person familiar with the plans said.
The announcement is likely to be viewed as a victory for President Trump, who has pushed foreign automakers to make more vehicles in the USA.
Having the capacity to produce about 300,000 vehicles annually, the plant would be operational by 2021 through a new 50-50 joint venture, the person told USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to reveal the information before the formal announcement.
The move could carry significant political implications after Trump’s criticism of Toyota and other companies that sell foreignmade cars in the USA. It was not clear whether Trump’s remarks factored into the decision.
Toyota declined to comment, and Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes said the matter was set to be discussed in Japan on Friday, but he couldn't comment further.
The auto industry is lobbying the Trump administration to back down from threats to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. Toyota has opposed significant NAFTA changes.
The automakers have not decided where to build the assembly plant, potentially triggering a bidding war among states eager for economic development.
Toyota and Mazda are set to announce plans to collaborate on the development of electric vehicles, safety equipment and self-driving car technology, the anonymous source said.
The companies are likely to announce investments in each other. Since Toyota is the world’s secondbiggest automaker by volume, it is clearly the big sibling on the deal.
The accord could pave the way for further industry consolidation as automakers grapple with the steep costs of meeting global fuel economy standards and investing in self-driving cars.
“Toyota and Mazda have been working more closely together, so it is no surprise they will have a plant together,” Autotrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs said, adding that Mazda had searched for U.S. manufacturing capacity.
Trump escalated criticism of Toyota in January, threatening to implement a border tax if the company did not invest in U.S. production. Toyota announced plans in January to invest $10 billion in U.S. operations over five years.
Over the decades, Toyota has developed a massive footprint of plants in the USA. It includes factories in Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia, Texas and Indiana, from which the automaker exports more than 160,000 vehicles annually to 40 countries.
Trump was upset at Toyota’s plans to build a $1 billion, 2,000worker plant in Mexico to make the Toyota Corolla sedan. “NO WAY!” he said in a tweet two weeks before taking office. “Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax.”