Alabama leading the charge in electric vehicle production
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - This week, Montgomery’s Hyundai plant announced it will start making a hybrid Santa Fe and an all-electric Genesis GV70 later in 2022. The announcement is just the latest in how Alabama’s secretary of commerce believes the auto industry is changing, and how Alabama is playing a role.
“It’s no longer the case that people don’t know who Alabama is,” said Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield. “Now they want to know how they can get to Alabama.”
Canfield has been on the frontlines over the last decade as Alabama has positioned itself as an international player in the automotive industry. The state’s No. 1 export is automobiles and automotive parts. It’s also estimated there are about 60,000 jobs associated with the automotive sector in Alabama.
”It is over $10 billion in value in terms of exports,” Canfield stated, “and that makes Alabama the second to third largest vehicle exporter in the US.”
Currently, there are five original equipment manufacturers in Alabama including Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Mazda and Honda.
Canfield believes as more companies look to build cars powered by electricity, Alabama is poised to take advantage.
“The electrification of vehicles is truly electrifying,” he added. “We could potentially see some significant suppliers coming into our state involved with the battery technology. There are a number of factors that make our state stand out.”
Canfield said the state has “an incredible workforce to draw from. We’ve got affordable land for development. We’ve got close proximity to interstates, and we’ve got a deep water port, right there and Mobile, Alabama really hits a lot of those check marks.”
With lots of pent up demand and a lot of excitement around this new technology building, the infrastructure for charging is top of mind.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has a statewide plan to guide current and future efforts to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
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