Blockbuster 2015 sets stage for Alabama growth (video)
From Airbus launching aircraft assembly in Mobile to Google selecting Jackson County for a major data center project, it’s been a massive year for Alabama and its economic development team. In fact, 2015 looks like a year for Alabama’s record books, with game-changing developments in important industry sectors, including aerospace, technology, automotive and advanced manufacturing.…
Commerce, allies target Alabama auto sector growth
Alabama’s auto sector is charging forward, with record-setting production and new expansion activity that’s adding more muscle to the state’s prominent position in a global industry. Just this week, a new analysis showed that Honda’s Alabama assembly plant had an economic impact totaling $6.8 billion in 2014. A similar study this year focusing on Hyundai’s…
2016 Honda Pilot joins ranks of new Alabama-made autos
LINCOLN, Alabama – Amid the cheers of celebrating workers, Honda launched mass production of its redesigned 2016 Pilot sport utility at the company’s Alabama plant – the latest in a flurry of new or re-engineered models emerging from the state’s automakers. “It’s an exciting day for all of team members in Alabama,” Jeff Tomko, president…
‘Job 1’ marks GLE Coupé launch at Mercedes Alabama plant
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Workers at Mercedes-Benz’s sprawling Alabama assembly plant celebrated “Job 1” today, signaling the start of mass production of the all-new GLE Coupé at the $4.5 billion facility. Mercedes has called 2015 “The Year of the SUV” for the brand, with the launch of the GLE Coupé and a renewal of most of…
Mercedes M-Class gets new name, look at New York Auto Show debut
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The vehicle that launched Alabama’s auto industry – the Mercedes-Benz M-Class – is getting a new name and a new look that will be unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. To become known as the GLE, the Alabama-made sport utility vehicle family also is getting a new member: a plug-in…
Alabama-made Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé to battle ‘Jurassic World’ dinosaurs
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Mercedes-Benz’s newest Alabama-made vehicle, the GLE Coupé, will race through the jungles of “Jurassic World,” the highly anticipated next installment of the blockbuster dinosaur movie series that previously featured the automaker’s first Alabama-made automobile. The GLE Coupé, which will enter mass production at the company’s Tuscaloosa County plant this year, is among several Mercedes vehicles…
Mercedes-Benz to boost annual Alabama output to 300,000 vehicles
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Mercedes-Benz, which launched Alabama’s auto industry nearly two decades ago, plans to sharply increase production at its Tuscaloosa County plant over the next two years, boosting annual capacity to 300,000 vehicles from the 185,000 produced there in 2013. Daimler AG and Mercedes executives said at the Vance plant today that the automaker…
Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield: Mercedes-Benz launched new era for Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Twenty years ago, on Sept. 30, 1993, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to build its first U.S. factory in Vance, Ala. In just two decades, Alabama has transformed from a state with virtually no experience in auto production into the country’s fourth largest auto producer, churning out nearly 900,000 vehicles a year. Mercedes has done…