LAS VEGAS: Alabama will be the site of a new $1.6 billion Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp auto plant, a victory for President Donald Trump who had prodded manufacturers to build new US facilities and threatened tariffs on foreign production, sources said on Tuesday.

The plant, which will employ up to 4,000 people and produce about 300,000 vehicles a year, will be located in Huntsville, Alabama, and is a boon for the state, where Toyota has a large engine plant and an existing network of automotive suppliers. A formal announcement by company and state officials is expected on Wednesday in Montgomery, sources briefed on the matter said.

Toyota Motor Corp announced on a self-driving electric concept vehicle that it will tailor for companies to use for tasks like ride hailing and package delivery, underscoring how automakers are no longer simply building cars but also providing services to go with them.

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation, announces the “e-Palette”, a new fully self-driving electric concept vehicle designed to be used for ride hailing, parcel delivery services and other uses at CES in Las Vegas on Monday.

The world’s second-biggest carmaker said it plans to begin testing the e_Palette concept vehicle in various regions, including the United States, in the early 2020s. It will come in three sizes: a bus-sized vehicle, a shuttle and a small delivery vehicle sized to run on sidewalks.

Toyota said at the CES global technology conference in Las Vegas that it will work with companies including Amazon.com Inc, Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing Technology Co, Pizza Hut, Mazda Motor Corp and Uber Technologies Inc to build the vehicle and its hardware and software support and develop connected mobility products.

After intense research and development in self-driving technology, automakers are beginning to unveil clearly defined autonomous vehicle strategies and looking to apply the technology to uses like ride services, shuttle services and package deliveries.

Reuters