May 2022

Auto supplier Shinhwa investing $78 million in second Alabama facility

Shinhwa Auto USA Corp. is expanding its presence in Auburn by adding a second auto parts manufacturing facility as part of a $78 million growth project that will create 42 jobs over the next three years.

 

Nissan considers third U.S. plant to meet EV demand

Nissan is considering adding a new auto plant in the U.S. to keep up with growing demand for electric vehicles, according to a top executive at the Japanese automaker. Nissan now has two auto plants in the U.S. — one in Canton, Miss., makes the Titan pickup truck and Altima sedan, among other models. The other in Smyrna, Tenn., makes the Leaf electric car, Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and other models. The third plant would not just be an added assembly line to an existing plant but a totally new facility, although it may be built as an extension of an existing plant.

 

Summit Polymers will invest $37.5 million In Kentucky

Summit Polymers will build a $37.5 million manufacturing facility in Anderson County, Ky., creating 218 full-time jobs. The Michigan-based company designs and manufactures automotive interior components.

 

Massive EV battery plant planned for Bowling Green, Ky.

Envision AESC, a Japanese electric vehicle battery technology company, unveiled plans in early April to invest $2 billion to open a new manufacturing facility in the Kentucky Transpark. The state-of-the-art gigafactory battery plant will employ 2,000 people to produce battery cells and modules to power electric vehicles.

 

Toyota expanding in the South

Toyota plans to invest $222 million at its manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Ala. The company will create a new production line for four-cylinder engines, including a hybrid electric version. The project is part of a $383 million company-wide plan that injects new investment into four U.S. manufacturing plants that support powertrain production for Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Kentucky (which will add 220 new jobs), Missouri and Tennessee are included, with the Alabama facility receiving the largest investment.

 

Hyundai pours $300 million into Montgomery plant to build EVs

Hyundai plans to start production of its first Alabama-made electric vehicles this fall, part of a $300 million expansion that will create 200 more jobs. The company recently announced that its Santa Fe Hybrid would start rolling off the assembly line in Montgomery this October. It will be the first electric vehicle the company has made in America. The plant will start production of the Electrified Genesis GV70 luxury SUV in December.

 

Georgia wins new Hyundai plant

Hyundai is building facilities dedicated to manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries in Savannah, marking Hyundai’s first EV-only plant in the U.S. The South Korean automaker will spend $5.5 billion on the new facilities and will receive an additional $1 billion investment from its suppliers. Hyundai expects production at the 2,923-acre site to begin in the first half of 2025, with construction starting in early 2023. The EV factory is set to make 300,000 vehicles per year and will add around 8,100 new jobs.

 

Auto supplier announces $8 million Tennessee plant

A Michigan manufacturer of automotive powertrain and drivetrain systems plans to establish a new facility in East Tennessee. ATC Drivetrain will invest more than $8 million in the new plant in Knoxville. Over the next five years, the company expects the project to create 218 new jobs.

 

EV supplier building $325 million plant near Statesboro, Ga.

Aspen Aerogels is building a $325 million manufacturing plant in Bulloch County that will produce special materials to prevent potentially disastrous fires in electric vehicles. The company will invest a minimum of $325 million to build a factory south of Statesboro for production of aerogel thermal insulating material used in electric vehicle batteries. Company officials expect the plant to create more than 250 advanced manufacturing jobs.

 

Volkswagen Chattanooga’s EV push to fill 1,000 new jobs

Volkswagen is holding a job fair aimed at hiring 1,000 production workers for its assembly plant in Tennessee.

 

VinFast picks North Carolina for $2 billion EV assembly plant

VinFast has selected North Carolina for its first North American automotive assembly and battery manufacturing plant. The Hanoi, Vietnam-based auto manufacturer will create 7,500 jobs and invest up to $2 billion in phase 1 of its project at the Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County. It will be North Carolina’s first car manufacturing plant.

Author: Stacy Randle