Fall 2009

Mercedes Bringing C-Class Sedan to Alabama, Adding 1,000 Jobs

Daimler announced plans in early December to move production of its C-Class sedan to its Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, Ala. in 2014. The Alabama plant currently assembles the M-class, R-class and GL crossover and SUV models. With the sales collapse of SUV models the plant has seen reduced volumes over the last two years. The addition of C-Class production will add 1,000 to 1,200 new jobs at the Alabama plant. 

VW's First Year Sales Goal for Tennessee-Made Car

In the fall quarter, German automaker Volkswagen said that it expects to sell about 130,000 of its new sedan model that it is preparing to assemble in Chattanooga, Tenn. when the plant opens in 2011. The new mid-sized sedan, which will be larger than VW's Passat model, will be priced at about $20,000. VW officials said they expect to sell about 30,000 of the vehicles in Canada and Mexico. The company is also considering assembling Audi models in Chattanooga. The Tennessee plant is part of VW's goal of selling one million cars and SUVs in the U.S. by 2018. Currently, that figure is just over 200,000 vehicles sold in the U.S.

Tennessee Approves Land Purchase for Megasite

The Tennessee State Building Commission has approved $40 million in state funds to purchase more than 3,800 acres of land for the West Tennessee megasite. The TVA certified site will now undergo an engineering assessment to determine further infrastructure improvements. The megasite is located in Haywood County, Tenn. between Jackson and Memphis.

Toyota to Produce RAV4 Engines in W.Va.

In the fall quarter, Toyota Motor Corp. announced it will produce about 2,000 RAV4 six-cylinder engines a month at its plant in Buffalo, W.Va. plant. The West Virginia plant also produces four-cylinder engines for the Toyota Corolla and Matrix and six-cylinder engines for the Highlander, Sienna and Lexus RX-350 models.

Toyota Moving Small Truck Production to San Antonio

After announcing it is moving production out of the California plant it shared with GM, Toyota officials recently decided to move assembly of its Tacoma truck model to its plant in San Antonio. Since 2006 the Japanese automaker has produced only one model in San Antonio and that is the full sized Tundra pickup. Sales of the Tundra have declined over the last two years and news of a new model coming to the San Antonio plant will be welcomed by the 21 parts suppliers located onsite. Toyota will end production at its plant in Freemont, Calif. in the spring of 2010 and begin assembly of the Tacoma in San Antonio in the summer. GM has already stopped production at the California plant. As many as 1,000 new jobs are expected to be created at the San Antonio plant.

Kia Hiring 1,200 More Workers in Georgia

Kia Motors, which opened its plant in West Point, Ga. in November, announced it will hire another 1,200 assembly line workers for a second production line that will be operational in early 2010. Currently, the Korean automaker employs about 2,500 workers at its new Georgia plant that rolled out its first Sorento cross-over vehicle in the fall quarter.

Kansas GM Plant Gearing Up for Third Shift

General Motors' large-scale factory consolidations in 2009 are benefiting the automaker's plant in Kansas City, Kan. The plant is gearing up to go to 24-hour operations at its Fairfax assembly plant by adding a third shift in January. The Fairfax plant currently houses about 2,700 employees. The new shift will add about 800 new workers. The Kansas plant assembles the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura and the Buick LaCrosse.

Kia Generating Over 3,600 Jobs in Neighboring Alabama

According to a report from the Alabama Development Office, Kia's new plant in west Georgia has created more than 3,600 jobs in neighboring Alabama, where dozens of Korean parts suppliers operate existing plants supporting Hyundai's assembly plant in Montgomery. The report stateed that when the Kia plant opened for business in November, 12 new parts suppliers, 22 existing supplier expansions and $704 million in capital investment was made in Alabama as a result of the Kia plant. The 3,600 new jobs do not include Alabamians that are working at the Kia plant or at its auto parts suppliers in Georgia. Kia is a sister company to Hyundai and many of the supplier expansions have been at plants that now serve both assembly plants.

Automotive Startup Announces Big Plans in Alabama

On September 23, Yung "Benjamin" Yeung, the former chairman of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, announced that his new automotive venture, Hybrid Kinetic Motors (HK Motors), plans to build a $1.5 billion, 6,000-employee assembly plant in South Alabama. The site of the prospective plant is located north of Bay Minette in Baldwin County. At a news conference attended by local and state leaders as well as Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, details of the new vehicles were presented. HK plans to build cars, SUVs, crossovers and trucks at the facility that run on new technologies that combine compressed natural gas, gasoline and electricity. Officials with both the company and the state of Alabama said that the company has not raised enough funds as of yet to build the plant and that incentives will not be negotiated until more money is raised for the venture.

Hummer Sale Official, Vehicle Assembly to Remain in Louisiana

A definitive purchase agreement has been reached for the sale of Hummer from GM to China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. The acquisition is expected to ensure that Hummer vehicles will continue to be manufactured at the former GM facility in Shreveport, La., through at least June 2011.

Nissan to Break Ground on Tennessee Lithium-Ion Battery Plant

Nissan is poised to break ground on a $1 billion lithium-ion battery plant at its massive facility in Smyrna, Tenn. The plant will include three "modules" which can produce 54,000 electric car batteries a year. Each module will cost $350 million to construct, which means the bulk of the loan the Department of Energy is giving to Nissan will be spent on battery production. The Japanese automaker is also retooling one existing assembly line in Smyrna to produce its first electric, zero emissions vehicle, the Leaf. Nissan is also making similar investments in battery manufacturing at other plants around the world, including one in northeast England. The Leaf, dubbed the world's "first electric car designed for affordability and real world requirements," is slated for launch in Japan late in 2010 and in the U.S. by 2012. Nissan operates assembly plants in the Southern Automotive Corridor in Canton, Miss. and in Smyrna and its North American headquarters is located in Nashville. The Japanese automaker also operates other facilities in the South, including distribution centers and engine plants.

GreenTech Automotive Announces Plans for Plant in Mississippi

In October, GreenTech Automotive Inc., a Mississippi company, announced plans to develop and manufacture automobiles on 1,500 acres in Tunica County Miss.’s Metro-Mega-site, with an option to purchase more land as needed. The initial phase of the project is estimated to cost $1 billion and provide 1,500 jobs. The plant is expected to assemble 150,000 vehicles annually. GreenTech's proprietary, mass producible technology will ensure that its vehicles will already meet the lower emissions and fuel consumption standards that the Obama administration has set for 2016. In addition to strategic investments, the investments made through Gulf Coast Automotive Fund (GCAF) in the project are an integrated part of GreenTech's overall funding strategy. GCAF is an USCIS-approved regional center and professional investment firm. GCAF has committed to working with GreenTech Automotive through the EB-5 immigration investment program and supporting the hybrid car project in Tunica.

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Fall 2009

Mercedes Bringing C-Class Sedan to Alabama, Adding 1,000 Jobs

Daimler announced plans in early December to move production of its C-Class sedan to its Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, Ala. in 2014. The Alabama plant currently assembles the M-class, R-class and GL crossover and SUV models. With the sales collapse of SUV models the plant has seen reduced volumes over the last two years. The addition of C-Class production will add 1,000 to 1,200 new jobs at the Alabama plant. 

VW's First Year Sales Goal for Tennessee-Made Car

In the fall quarter, German automaker Volkswagen said that it expects to sell about 130,000 of its new sedan model that it is preparing to assemble in Chattanooga, Tenn. when the plant opens in 2011. The new mid-sized sedan, which will be larger than VW's Passat model, will be priced at about $20,000. VW officials said they expect to sell about 30,000 of the vehicles in Canada and Mexico. The company is also considering assembling Audi models in Chattanooga. The Tennessee plant is part of VW's goal of selling one million cars and SUVs in the U.S. by 2018. Currently, that figure is just over 200,000 vehicles sold in the U.S.

Tennessee Approves Land Purchase for Megasite

The Tennessee State Building Commission has approved $40 million in state funds to purchase more than 3,800 acres of land for the West Tennessee megasite. The TVA certified site will now undergo an engineering assessment to determine further infrastructure improvements. The megasite is located in Haywood County, Tenn. between Jackson and Memphis.

Toyota to Produce RAV4 Engines in W.Va.

In the fall quarter, Toyota Motor Corp. announced it will produce about 2,000 RAV4 six-cylinder engines a month at its plant in Buffalo, W.Va. plant. The West Virginia plant also produces four-cylinder engines for the Toyota Corolla and Matrix and six-cylinder engines for the Highlander, Sienna and Lexus RX-350 models.

Toyota Moving Small Truck Production to San Antonio

After announcing it is moving production out of the California plant it shared with GM, Toyota officials recently decided to move assembly of its Tacoma truck model to its plant in San Antonio. Since 2006 the Japanese automaker has produced only one model in San Antonio and that is the full sized Tundra pickup. Sales of the Tundra have declined over the last two years and news of a new model coming to the San Antonio plant will be welcomed by the 21 parts suppliers located onsite. Toyota will end production at its plant in Freemont, Calif. in the spring of 2010 and begin assembly of the Tacoma in San Antonio in the summer. GM has already stopped production at the California plant. As many as 1,000 new jobs are expected to be created at the San Antonio plant.

Kia Hiring 1,200 More Workers in Georgia

Kia Motors, which opened its plant in West Point, Ga. in November, announced it will hire another 1,200 assembly line workers for a second production line that will be operational in early 2010. Currently, the Korean automaker employs about 2,500 workers at its new Georgia plant that rolled out its first Sorento cross-over vehicle in the fall quarter.

Kansas GM Plant Gearing Up for Third Shift

General Motors' large-scale factory consolidations in 2009 are benefiting the automaker's plant in Kansas City, Kan. The plant is gearing up to go to 24-hour operations at its Fairfax assembly plant by adding a third shift in January. The Fairfax plant currently houses about 2,700 employees. The new shift will add about 800 new workers. The Kansas plant assembles the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura and the Buick LaCrosse.

Kia Generating Over 3,600 Jobs in Neighboring Alabama

According to a report from the Alabama Development Office, Kia's new plant in west Georgia has created more than 3,600 jobs in neighboring Alabama, where dozens of Korean parts suppliers operate existing plants supporting Hyundai's assembly plant in Montgomery. The report stateed that when the Kia plant opened for business in November, 12 new parts suppliers, 22 existing supplier expansions and $704 million in capital investment was made in Alabama as a result of the Kia plant. The 3,600 new jobs do not include Alabamians that are working at the Kia plant or at its auto parts suppliers in Georgia. Kia is a sister company to Hyundai and many of the supplier expansions have been at plants that now serve both assembly plants.

Automotive Startup Announces Big Plans in Alabama

On September 23, Yung "Benjamin" Yeung, the former chairman of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, announced that his new automotive venture, Hybrid Kinetic Motors (HK Motors), plans to build a $1.5 billion, 6,000-employee assembly plant in South Alabama. The site of the prospective plant is located north of Bay Minette in Baldwin County. At a news conference attended by local and state leaders as well as Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, details of the new vehicles were presented. HK plans to build cars, SUVs, crossovers and trucks at the facility that run on new technologies that combine compressed natural gas, gasoline and electricity. Officials with both the company and the state of Alabama said that the company has not raised enough funds as of yet to build the plant and that incentives will not be negotiated until more money is raised for the venture.

Hummer Sale Official, Vehicle Assembly to Remain in Louisiana

A definitive purchase agreement has been reached for the sale of Hummer from GM to China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. The acquisition is expected to ensure that Hummer vehicles will continue to be manufactured at the former GM facility in Shreveport, La., through at least June 2011.

Nissan to Break Ground on Tennessee Lithium-Ion Battery Plant

Nissan is poised to break ground on a $1 billion lithium-ion battery plant at its massive facility in Smyrna, Tenn. The plant will include three "modules" which can produce 54,000 electric car batteries a year. Each module will cost $350 million to construct, which means the bulk of the loan the Department of Energy is giving to Nissan will be spent on battery production. The Japanese automaker is also retooling one existing assembly line in Smyrna to produce its first electric, zero emissions vehicle, the Leaf. Nissan is also making similar investments in battery manufacturing at other plants around the world, including one in northeast England. The Leaf, dubbed the world's "first electric car designed for affordability and real world requirements," is slated for launch in Japan late in 2010 and in the U.S. by 2012. Nissan operates assembly plants in the Southern Automotive Corridor in Canton, Miss. and in Smyrna and its North American headquarters is located in Nashville. The Japanese automaker also operates other facilities in the South, including distribution centers and engine plants.

GreenTech Automotive Announces Plans for Plant in Mississippi

In October, GreenTech Automotive Inc., a Mississippi company, announced plans to develop and manufacture automobiles on 1,500 acres in Tunica County Miss.’s Metro-Mega-site, with an option to purchase more land as needed. The initial phase of the project is estimated to cost $1 billion and provide 1,500 jobs. The plant is expected to assemble 150,000 vehicles annually. GreenTech's proprietary, mass producible technology will ensure that its vehicles will already meet the lower emissions and fuel consumption standards that the Obama administration has set for 2016. In addition to strategic investments, the investments made through Gulf Coast Automotive Fund (GCAF) in the project are an integrated part of GreenTech's overall funding strategy. GCAF is an USCIS-approved regional center and professional investment firm. GCAF has committed to working with GreenTech Automotive through the EB-5 immigration investment program and supporting the hybrid car project in Tunica.

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