04 August, 2017
Toyota said in a statement that it plans to propose to its board a partnership with Mazda.
The US plant would have the capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles a year and create 4,000 jobs, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.
"In May 2015, Toyota and Mazda signed a memorandum of understanding to explore various areas of collaboration", Toyota said in a statement.
A new auto plant would be a major boost to U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to boost manufacturing and expand employment for American autoworkers.
The report indicated that two Japanese auto makers also will form a joint venture to co-develop electric vehicles, safety features and connected-car technologies.
Toyota said it would discuss its partnership with the Hiroshima-based company at a board meeting later in the day.
Yesterday, Nikkei reported that Toyota would take around 5% stake in Mazda to develop key electric vehicle technologies and jointly build a factory in the US. "We can not comment any further", in a statement. Toyota's US Corolla sales are down almost 9% this year.
So far, a location for the factory has yet to be chosen, but Automotive News expects it to be built either in the Midwest or the Southeast.
Mazda already builds cars - the Toyota Yaris and Yaris iA - for Toyota at a plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico.
President Donald Trump in January criticized Toyota for importing cars to the USA from Mexico, and has made it a top priority to increase the number of US factory jobs.
Neither Toyota nor Mazda would comment when asked about the joint venture.
Last month, Trump complimented Toyota for completing its long-planned new North American headquarters in Texas.
