Alabama

Another milestone at Hyundai’s Montgomery plant

In the spring quarter, Alabama officials celebrated Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s 20 years of automotive production in Montgomery. Today, the plant houses over 4,000 workers and has built 6.2 million vehicles in 20 years. 

In Gov. Kay Ivey's proclamation notes she said that HMMA’s 20th anniversary represents a “moment to not only honor its remarkable accomplishments, but also the teamwork, innovation and partnerships that have defined its legacy.”

HMMA President and CEO Mark Rader praised the performance of the company’s state and local partners. “On behalf of our 4,200 team members, HMMA is honored and deeply grateful to Governor Ivey for her formal commendation to HMMA for its 20th anniversary and its contributions to Alabama’s economy, workforce and future over the past two decades,” Rader said. 

Georgia

Hyundai Motor Group’s massive $12.6 billion plant in Savannah is up and running

The South Korean conglomerate’s nearly $13 billion EV plant celebrated its official grand opening in the spring. Before and after we had some news from Hyundai in that it is increasing total annual units from 300,000 to 500,000. That will add 14,000 jobs to the new plant in Bryan County, Ga., by 2028. 

Looking at a U.S. map, Hyundai’s two Southern Automotive Corridor plants and its sister automaker brand Kia’s plant are almost situated in a straight line from Montgomery, Ala., to West Point, Ga., to Savannah, Ga. 

Editor’s note: Someone needs to let Hyundai officials know their North American headquarters is still in Fountain Valley, Calif. Why? All the other Korean, Japanese and
German automaker’s headquarters are in the South. 

German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is boosting its headquarters in the Atlanta metro 

Mercedes-Benz is adding 500 workers to its Sandy Springs, Ga., North American headquarters. Mercedes relocated its headquarters to metro Atlanta in 2018. The German automaker, known as “1MB” in Fulton County, is establishing a multi-million-dollar Research & Development center near its Atlanta area headquarters, which currently houses 800 workers. 

Kentucky

Nissan partners with Ford to make EV batteries in Kentucky

Nissan is partnering with Ford to utilize part of Ford’s BlueOval SK battery plant in Glendale, Ky., for its future electric vehicle production in Canton, Miss. This collaboration allows Nissan to address financial pressures and mitigate tariffs on imported parts by sourcing batteries within the U.S. The partnership also helps Ford maximize the output of its Kentucky facility, which was initially planned for smaller-scale production. 

The Japanese automaker operates two very large assembly plants in the Southern Automotive Corridor — one in Tennessee, including a powertrain plant in Winchester, and another large assembly plant in Mississippi. With possible tariff troubles, Nissan is doing what some others are. . .cutting exports to the U.S. by expanding here. It hasn’t been a large number of deals, as most of the automotive world in North America has hunkered down with very few new or expanded deals so far this year. 

Nissan is cutting costs globally, though it might shift the Sentra model production to its plant in Canton, Miss., where it has offered buyouts to workers as part of its cost-cutting measures. The Japanese automaker is also closing seven assembly plants worldwide, but both Southern plants seem safe from closure for now. 

Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings to expand in Cynthiana, Ky., with
$7.5 million investment, creating 50 jobs

Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted new momentum within the state’s manufacturing sector as Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings (CSTH), a privately held manufacturer of refuse and concrete mixer truck bodies, announced plans to expand operations at the company’s headquarters in Cynthiana.

Mississippi

Mitsubishi is in talks with Nissan about joint production in the U.S.

In late May, Nissan confirmed discussions with fellow Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, which wants to use the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss. to build its cars in the U.S. Or, it could use the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tenn., which is close to Nissan’s transmission factory in Winchester, Tenn.

The potential automotive manufacturing partnership is the first post-tariff deal in the Southern Automotive Corridor. Expect a few more. 

The partnership, if made as of this June 12th writing, would boost Mitsubishi’s capacity of Southern-made automotive models and batteries. Nissan made a deal to produce batteries at Ford-SK On’s plant in Glendale, Ky. That plant is built, but has been delayed. We believe all of these projects are a result of President Trump’s tariffs. We call them that, since Congress has not approved a single bill regarding the tariffs as of yet. 

North Carolina

Headquarters of Daimler division picks Charlotte over the Triad, York County, S.C.

Daimler, which operates several truck and auto plants in the South, selected Charlotte as the new headquarters of its financial division. The deal will create 276 jobs that pay about $140,000 a year on average. Daimler is taking 60,000 square feet of space in Ballantyne, investing $7.8 million. 

Tennessee

Automotive parts supplier relocates HQ from New York City to Memphis

Premium Guard (PGI) has relocated its headquarters from New York to Memphis. The company is a major automotive parts manufacturer with $500 million in annual revenue last year. The company employs 300 locally in Memphis prior to the relocation. PGI is one of the largest automotive filter manufacturers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. 

Texas

Tesla model drives itself from Gigafactory in Austin to buyer 30 miles away

At deadline, a Tesla Model Y successfully completed the first fully autonomous delivery from a factory to a customer’s home. The vehicle navigated from Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin to a nearby customer’s residence, making the 30-minute journey without any human input or remote intervention, according to Engadget. This milestone, achieved on June 27, 2025, included navigating through the factory’s parking lot, city streets and a highway, according to Tesla. Elon Musk hailed it as a first-of-its-kind achievement. 

Tesla taking more space in and around Austin

Tesla is at it again, gobbling up more and more office and industrial space in the Austin MSA. Tesla occupies more than 11 million square feet in the Austin metro, according to the Austin Business Journal’s list of the largest manufacturers. That is primarily at its gigafactory in eastern Travis County, Texas, but also includes buildings in Kyle, Taylor and Hutto. This latest expansion was an acquisition of 300,000 square feet.

Virginia

Startup EV maker Rivian plans new Northern Virginia sales center

Rivian, which has put off its giant assembly plant for now east of Atlanta, plans a new sales center in NOVA despite some financial challenges. The electric truck maker out of California is setting up shop in Loudon, Va.