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Factbox-EV and battery makers target $24 billion for southern U.S. plants

| Oct 08, 2021 03:52 PM EDT

People test drive Dream Edition P and Dream Edition R electric vehicles at the Lucid Motors plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, U.S

The center of gravity for U.S. auto manufacturing is moving south, with electric vehicle and battery makers planning to spend nearly $24 billion in new factories from Arizona to Georgia.

Already announced are the following plants and investments:

ARIZONA

Startup Lucid Motors has just opened a $300 million assembly plant for electric vehicles in Casa Grande, halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. The company says future expansion plans could take total investment up to $1 billion.

Nikola Corp said it is planning a $600 million facility in Coolidge, not far from Casa Grande, to build fuel-cell electric trucks.

TEXAS

Tesla Inc is nearing completion of its $1.1 billion assembly and battery plant outside Austin, and has said it will move its corporate headquarters from California to Texas.

TENNESSEE

German automaker Volkswagen AG invested another $800 million in its Chattanooga plant to build electric vehicles, starting earlier this year with the ID.4.

Ford Motor Co is building a massive vehicle and battery assembly complex in Stanton, outside Memphis, with partner SK Innovation Co. The $5.6 billion Blue Oval City is expected to open in 2025, building the next-generation F-150 Lightning pickup.

General Motors Co is investing $4.3 billion with partner LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem, to build an electric vehicle assembly plant and battery plant in Spring Hill. The assembly plant will turn out the Cadillac Lyriq in 2022 and a pair of vehicles for Honda Motor Co and its Acura brand in 2024.

KENTUCKY

Ford and SKI are spending $5.8 billion to construct two battery plants in Glendale, near Louisville, to open in 2025-2026.

ALABAMA

Toyota Motor Corp and partner Mazda Motor Corp have opened their $2.3 billion plant near Huntsville, and expect to add production of electric vehicles in the near future.

GEORGIA

SKI is investing $2.6 billion in two battery plants in Commerce, outside Atlanta, with the first slated to open in 2022.

OKLAHOMA

Startup Canoo Inc has agreed to build a $500 million plant in Pryor, outside Tulsa, to assemble a range of electric vehicles, starting in 2023.

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