MADISON, Ala. — The first Toyota Corolla Cross rolled off the assembly line at the Mazda Toyota plant on Thursday.
Today's event was called the "Apollo Milestone Event," named after Toyota's Apollo assembly line. The plant's other assembly line, Discovery, will manufacture a still-to-be-announced Mazda vehicle.
“This is the moment MTM and our North Alabama community have waited for since we broke ground in November 2018,” said Mark Brazeal, vice president of administration. “We are excited to see Corolla Cross in dealerships across the U.S.”
The compact SUV was expected to be in dealer showrooms by the end of the year.
The company, which began construction on its Huntsville plant in 2018, is believed to be the state's single largest economic development. MTM is obligated to ultimately hire at least 4,000 people under a development agreement with the city of Huntsville.
The plant has the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles per year evenly split between the Toyota and Mazda vehicles.
“I’m so proud of our team members, and I’m excited to continue our hiring plan to add to our MTM family,” said Janette Hostettler, vice president of production. “Our team members exhibit a true commitment to safety and quality, and it is a big day for them to watch the Corolla Cross drive off our line ready to be shipped.”