Japan’s automotive industry impact on the Southern Auto Corridor
Japanese automakers operate seven major assembly plants and several large engine and transmission facilities in the Southern Automotive Corridor. The plants are located from Texas to West Virginia, but most are located near the spine of the Southern Auto Corridor, which is Interstate 65 that runs through Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. The Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) released its 2015 advance contributions data in the spring quarter, and it showed that Japanese automakers have a cumulative manufacturing investment in the U.S. that totals $45.4 billion. The release also stated that 75 percent of Japanese-brand vehicles sold in the U.S. are produced in North America.

ALABAMA

Honda to begin production of new pickup truck in Alabama
At its plant in Lincoln, Ala., Honda Manufacturing of Alabama has begun production of the all-new 2017 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck — what some auto industry experts are calling a second crack at the lucrative American truck market.

Asahi Kasei Plastics North America opens Alabama plant
A leading international compounder of advanced engineered polymers, Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, opened its newest plastics compounding facility in Athens, Ala. The Athens facility will serve as a production and distribution hub for the company in the South, to a number of their key segments in the region — automotive, commercial seating, pool and spa, electrical and electronics.

Over 600 Alabamians to be employed at new parts plant
SMP (Samvardhana Motherson Peguform Automotive Systems Alabama Inc.), an India-based automotive parts supplier, is getting ready to break ground on a new 100-acre site in Cottondale, right outside Tuscaloosa. The 700,000-square-foot factory, which will cost $154 million, was originally announced in August last year, but now the groundwork is finally getting started.

Auto supplier Mando America expanding Alabama plant
Mando America, which moved its headquarters from Detroit to Opelika, Ala., where it operates one of its large plants, is expanding there. Mando makes brakes, suspensions and other parts in Opelika. The company is investing $19 million in its headquarters and adding 32 jobs.

Kamtek’s new $80 million Birmingham aluminum plant on schedule
Kamtek’s $80 million aluminum parts casting plant is on schedule to produce parts for BMW and Mercedes by this fall. The 148,000-square-foot facility will house state-of-the-art high-pressure aluminum casters to produce parts that reduce vehicle weights by up to 45 percent. Kamtek, a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna, has invested $473 million in its Birmingham facilities in the last three years. The new casting facility will employ 120, which will bring total employment at Kamtek’s Birmingham location to over 1,000.

New Acura to be made at Honda’s Alabama plant
In the spring, Acura showed off its new three-row MDX crossover model at the New York Auto Show. The revamped MDX, Acura’s best-selling vehicle, will be made at Honda’s Lincoln, Ala., assembly plant.

ARKANSAS

Belgium manufacturer expanding in Arkansas
Bekaert, a maker of steel cord used in tires, is adding 50 percent more production capacity at its plant in Rogers, Ark. The deal will call for 100 new hires.

GEORGIA

Georgia’s Kumho Tire opens $450 million manufacturing plant
Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate Macon’s largest manufacturing plant to open in 40 years. The Kumho Tire Georgia plant is the company’s first U.S.-based manufacturing plant, and will have the capacity to produce 4 million tires a year.

rolls out 2 millionth unit at Georgia plant
Kia’s CEO Hyun-Jong Shi drove a white 2016 Kia Sorento model off the line in late march at the Korean automaker’s only U.S. assembly plant located in Troup County, Ga. The vehicle was the 2 millionth vehicle made at the plant, which began production in late 2009.

KENTUCKY

Japanese parts company locating second facility in Bowling Green
Kobe Steel will build a new plant near its sister company, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, in Bowling Green. The new plant will produce aluminum parts for cars and trucks. It will be staffed by 106 full-time workers.

Creform breaks ground on new manufacturing facility in Georgetown
Creform, which has had a sales office in Georgetown for five years, recently broke ground on a new manufacturing facility. Creform is a handling system for use in the car manufacturing process invented by the Japanese company Yakaki Kako Corp. The new plant means 50 jobs for the company that does a large business with Toyota.

Automotive supplier bringing 170 jobs to Shepherdsville
An automotive supplier that manufactures seating for vehicles is looking to beef up its Bullitt County workforce. Magna Seating of America Inc., which does business as Louisville Seating, intends to create 170 jobs at its Shepherdsville facility as part of a $12.7 million plant expansion.

Ford stamping supplier plans new plant in Bardstown
Michigan-based Thai Summit America is building a stamping plant in Bardstown, Ky., to supply the two Ford plants in Louisville. The $110 million plant will house 216 workers.

Auto supplier expands in Somerset
Toyotetsu America, a maker of auto parts, is investing $63 million to expand its plant in Somerset, Ky. The company will add equipment, space and 100 jobs.

Auto parts supplier expands in eastern Kentucky
Superior Composites, a maker of filament glass fiber used in the automotive and transportation industries, is expanding its plant in Vanceburg, Ky. The $2.5 million project will create 32 full-time jobs.

MISSOURI

Spanish auto supplier signs lease at K.C.’s SubTropolis
Grupo Antolin, one of the world’s leading parts suppliers, is moving into space at Kansas City’s Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground industrial park and business complex. The supplier will make interior parts for the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Malibu, both of which are made at Ford’s and GM’s Kansas City area plants.

NORTH CAROLINA

Tesla, BMW partner bringing 50 jobs to Henderson
Henderson County workers will soon have a hand in luxury cars made by BMW and Tesla. Demmel will create 50 jobs at a $4 million facility in East Flat Rock. The factory, slated to begin hiring this summer and reach its full employee count within five years, will manufacture automotive sill plates and emblems using metal stamping, printing and injection molding processes.

Chinese-owned auto parts supplier chooses Shelby
KSM Castings USA will spend $80 million to expand its transmissions housing plant in Cleveland County, N.C. The project will create 80 jobs.

Thomas Built Buses hiring in North Carolina
Daimler Trucks subsidiary Thomas Built Buses is expanding in High Point, N.C. The company is adding a second shift to assemble its Saf-T-Liner bus. The deal will create 200 jobs.

SOUTH CAROLINA

BMW rolls out 3.5 millionth vehicle in South Carolina
BMW Manufacturing Co. set a milestone in the spring quarter. The German automaker rolled out its 3.5 millionth vehicle. The company produced 400,000 SUVs in calendar year 2015.

German auto parts supplier expands in York County
Schaeffler Group USA announced in the spring quarter that it is investing $36.5 million in its U.S. headquarters and plants in Fort Mill, S.C. The company, which is adding 105 jobs, employs over 2,000 workers at six plants and its headquarters in South Carolina.

Chinese manufacturer setting up shop in Upstate South Carolina
Jiangnan Mold Plastic Technology Corp., a China-based plastic mold products manufacturer for the auto industry, is investing $45 million to open a new plant in Spartanburg County. The company will create 150 jobs in the deal.

Supplier establishing facility in rural South Carolina
WG Plastics Technology Corp., a plastics injection mold manufacturer for the automotive industry, is establishing a new plant in Abbeville County, S.C. The $2.7 million investment will create 50 jobs.

Auto supplier growing in Aiken
Switzerland-based Autoneum, a manufacturer of materials that reduce heat and noise in passenger components of vehicles, is expanding in Aiken County, S.C. The company is investing $35 million and adding 40 jobs in the deal.

Volvo to localize suppliers in South Carolina
In the spring quarter, Volvo executive Katarina Fjording visited the Charleston metro, where the Swedish car company is building a new assembly plant. While visiting, Fjording said that when Volvo begins assembly of its sedan in Berkeley County in 2018, the company plans to source the parts largely from South Carolina suppliers. A number of executives of part supplier companies from Sweden also visited the Charleston area in the spring quarter.

TENNESSEE

GM to invest $790 million in Spring Hill, create 800 jobs
General Motors recently announced plans to invest $790 million and hire hundreds of workers at its Spring Hill plant as the automaker prepares to launch a new high-efficiency engine program.

Nissan adds almost 200 jobs in $57 million project
Nissan will expand and more than double its existing footprint about 30 miles east of Nashville, pushing its real estate there to 1.5 million square feet.

Korean tire maker plans headquarters in Nashville
Hankook Tire plans to set up its North American headquarters in Nashville. The South Korea-based company is expected to start production by the end of the year at what will eventually be an $800 million tire manufacturing plant in Clarksville. At full operation, that 469-acre plant is expected to employ up to 1,800 people in the Montgomery County city.

Steel firm expanding in Tennessee
Louisville-based Steel Technologies is expanding by building a new $18 million plant in Smyrna, Tenn. The new plant, which will house 50 workers, will supply finished steel and aluminum to several industries, including the automotive industry.

Auto parts supplier hiring in Northeast Tennessee
DTR Tennessee is investing $9 million to add 66,300 square feet to its large plant in Tazewell, Tenn. The company, which makes anti-vibration and sound insulation products for the automotive industry, will add 80 workers to the 700 who already work at the plant in Northeast Tennessee. DTR Tennessee also operates a large plant in nearby Greene County, Tenn., that employs 900 workers.

TEXAS

Cost of moving 4,000 Toyota headquarters employees under one roof: $1 billion
Toyota is in the midst of building its new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. (Its current headquarters are in Torrance, Calif.) However, Toyota has employees in Kentucky and New York that it wants to consolidate to Plano. Toyota officials revealed in the spring that moving employees from California, Kentucky and New York to Plano will ultimately cost $1 billion. Toyota’s new headquarters project is more than half finished and is expected to open early next year.

Chemours plans $230 million expansion in Corpus Christi
The Chemours Co. will spend $230 million to expand its facility in Ingleside, Texas to produce a refrigerant required in European cars. Chemours spun off from DuPont last July and occupies a former DuPont plant on 600 acres along the banks of the LaQuinta Channel. It’s here that the company plans to expand supply of its Opteon family of products.

BMW opens new vehicle distribution center at the Port of Galveston
The BMW Group opened its new vehicle distribution center at the Port of Galveston on April 20, about a year after first breaking ground. The new 44,000-square-foot facility was developed to better serve the New Jersey-based company’s 45 BMW and Mini dealers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The company expects to import and process approximately 32,500 vehicles annually at the new facility.

Tax incentives draw GM Financial to San Antonio
San Antonio’s strong workforce and more than $3.23 million in public incentives drew Fort Worth-based General Motors Financial Co. when the company chose its location for a new $24.5 million service center that will create about 700 jobs in the Alamo City.

Peterbilt expanding in Texas
Peterbilt Motors is adding space at its plant in Denton, Texas. The company is in the third phase of a $23 million expansion announced last year.

VIRGINIA

Coatings manufacturer expands in rural Virginia
Lohmann Specialty Coatings is expanding its plant in Orange County, Va. Lohmann’s products are used in a variety of industries including automotive, where the company has clients such as BMW and Bosch Siemens. The $6.7 million project will create 56 new jobs.

New distribution center sets up shop in Winchester
FCA US, a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler, is investing over $12 million in a parts distribution center in Winchester, Va. The 400,000-square-foot center will house about 70 workers.

Big auto parts deal near Roanoke
The Italian auto parts supplier Eldor Corp. announced in the spring it had chosen an industrial park in Botetourt County for a $75 million, 350-employee plant. The project is one of the largest automotive-related deals ever announced in the Roanoke Valley. The company will produce ignition systems, and based on market conditions, could make powertrain systems for hybrid-electric vehicles.