Toyota and Mazda have picked Alabama as the site of a new $1.6 billion joint-venture auto manufacturing plant. The plant will employ about 4,000 people and will be built in the Huntsville area in Limestone County. Alabama and North Carolina apparently were finalists for the huge factory, which is expected to begin operating in 2021.

It will be able to build 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. Toyota and Mazda are forming a capital alliance and splitting the cost for the plant equally. After reassessing the market, Toyota Motor Corp.

has changed its plan to make Corollas at a plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, now under construction, and instead will produce Tacoma pickups there.