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Bidding War Begins to Lure Toyota-Mazda $1.6 Billion Joint Venture Assembly Plant

08/07/2017
Toyota Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor Corporation signed a joint venture agreement to build a $1.6 billion assembly plant somewhere in the United States.

It is expected the announcement will spark a bidding war, with states offering lucrative incentive packages to drive the project home and capture up to 4,000 jobs. At the new plant, Mazda expects to produce cross-over models that Mazda will newly introduce to the North American market, and Toyota plans to produce the Corolla for the North American market. The plant would have an estimated annual production capacity of approximately 300,000 units.

Pending approvals and authorization by relevant government agencies, the companies will begin to examine detailed plans with the goal to starting operations of the new plant in 2021.

In addition to the collaboration in product and technology areas that the companies have enjoyed thus far, Toyota and Mazda intend to improve competitiveness in manufacturing through this new production collaboration.

Toyota and Mazda plan to jointly develop technologies for electric vehicles and connected-car technology, as well as collaborate on advanced safety technologies and expand complementary products.

According to both companies, by producing vehicles in the U.S., Mazda aims to build a production structure to further grow in North America. These activities will allow the company to more quickly respond to its customers’ needs depending on the region and model.

By further increasing its production capacity in the U.S., Toyota is to further pursue management that is closer to the region, as a measure to improve its response to the growing North American market. At Toyota’s new plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, which is currently under construction, Toyota plans to produce the Tacoma, instead of the Corolla. There will be no substantial impact on Toyota’s investment and employment plan there.

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