
An illustrious lineup of international carmakers – Mercedes ... Honda ... Hyundai ... Toyota – gives instant credibility to Alabama’s rapid emergence as one of the nation’s major automotive manufacturing centers.
In 1993, not a single automobile was made in Alabama. Then, Mercedes selected Alabama to build its first passenger vehicle factory outside Germany. The $400 million plant in Tuscaloosa County produced only one model when it began production in 1997 – the M-Class SUV.
By 2000, Mercedes doubled the plant size with an additional $600 million investment. Since then, two more models have been added and yet another – the C-Class – will begin production in 2014, adding 1,000 new jobs.
In 2011, fresh on the heels of a $290 million body shop expansion, Mercedes announced it would invest another $2 billion in three models of vehicles, expanding production by more than 40,000 a year.
“Tuscaloosa was the first production location of Mercedes-Benz cars ever outside of Germany, and today it is among our best,” said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG. “As our pioneering plant, it is also the blueprint for our new operations in emerging markets.”
The $2 billion investment will redesign the flagship M-Class SUV and the GL-Class, along with the roll-out of the C-Class, bringing total investment to $4 billion since opening in 1997.
HondaIn 1999, Honda chose the east Alabama town of Lincoln to invest $1.5 billion in a 3.5 million-square-foot facility to build the Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline and V6 engines. In 2011, Honda started an additional $191 million expansion that will make way for the production of the luxury SUVAcura MDX in 2013.
Korean automaker Hyundai in 2001 announced plans to employ 3,000 at a $1.7 billion plant near Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery. Today the facility makes the Sonata and Elantra sedans, which represent 65 percent of Hyundai sales in the U.S. market. During 2010, Hyundai Motor America had a record year with 538,228 vehicles sold, a 24 percent increase versus 2009. The game-changing Sonata led the way with more than 196,000 units sold. These results show how well consumers have responded to Hyundai’s high-tech 4-cylinder lineup, dynamic new design and the mid-size segment’s first five-star 2011 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-test result.
The all-new 2011 Elantra, which achieves 40 miles per gallon, had an impressive launch during 2010 and should have sales
that rival the Sonata during 2011. Hyundai plans to be the market leader in sales of 40 mile-per-gallon vehicles in 2011.
Montgomery’s Hyundai facility will begin producing Theta 4-cylinder gasoline-injection engines and Nu 4-cylinder engines in March 2012. They will supply the engines to nearby Hyundai subsidiary, KIA, just across the state line in West Point, Ga.
Navistar – the Illinois-based engine company – has two facilities in Huntsville: Navistar Diesel of Alabama and Navistar Big Bore Diesels. With a combined 1 million square feet, both factories make engines for commercial trucks, buses, defense vehicles, industrial equipment and motor homes.
Meanwhile, Toyota chose Huntsville in 2001 to build a 780,000-square-foot engine-making facility. The $637 million plant located on 200 acres manufactures V-8 engines for Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia SUVs, and V6 engines for Tundra and Tacoma pickups.
Staffed by more than 1,000 employees, the plant makes 500,000 engines annually.
With its central location in the South, Alabama has blossomed into a major automotive center in less than 20 years. Today it is home to three automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) OEM’s, with 250 suppliers and ancillary businesses and industries having facilities in Alabama.
Location: Tuscaloosa County
Announced: 1993
Opened: 1997
Capital Investment: $4 billion
Employment: 2,800
Annual Production: 125,000 vehicles (2010)
Plant Size: More than 4 million square feet-plus
Products: M-Class SUV, R-Class Grand Sports Tourer, GL-Class luxury SUV, C-Class sport/sedan (2014)
Photo courtesy of Merecedes Benz U.S. International (2011 M-Class)
Location: Montgomery County (Central Alabama)
Announced: 2002
Opened: 2005
Capital Investment: $1.7 billion
Employment: 2,700
Annual production: (at full production) 300,000 vehicles, 380,000 engines for Hyundai and Kia factory in West Point , Ga. (expanding engine capacity to 630,000 engines in 2012)
Plant Size: 2 million square feet
Products: Sonata sedan; Elantra sedan; Theta 4-cylinder gasoline injection engines; Nu 4-cylinder engine production starts March 2012.
Photo of 2011 Sonata courtesy of Hyundai Motor America
Location: Talladega County
Announced: 1999
Opened: 2001
Capital Investment: $1.5 billion
Employment: 4,000
Annual production: 300,000 vehicles and V6 engines
Plant Size: 3.5 million square feet
Products: Odyssey minivan; Pilot SUV; Ridgeline pickup; Acura MDX luxury SUV (2013) and V6 engines.
Additional Investment: $191 million (under way)
Photo of 2011 Ridgeline courtesy of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama