Toyota-Mazda JV plant in Huntsville AL to build Corollas & Mazda crossovers

Toyota will build the next-generation Corolla and Mazda an unnamed new crossover starting in 2021 at an assembly plant to be constructed just west of Huntsville, Ala.

The project will be operated as an independent joint venture that has not yet been named, delivering 150,000 Toyota Corollas and 150,000 units of the Mazda crossover.

Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Masamichi Kogai, who attended Wednesday's announcement here, is hoping to lead Mazda into a product revival starting in 2019, with a portfolio of new vehicle designs and fuel-efficient technologies.

He said that by partnering with Toyota on the plant, Mazda will be able to move ahead but with lower manufacturing costs.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, who shared the stage with Kogai , said Toyota is also planning for a new era of advanced products.

The Alabama-built Corolla will be the car's first conversion to what Toyota is calling the Toyota New Global Architecture, a corporate-wide move to more advanced powertrains and lighter vehicles that can be manufactured more easily and updated with greater flexibility.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180110/OEM01/180119971/toyota-mazda-alabama-plant-strategy?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1

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