Toyota Motor Corp and former rival Mazda Motor Corp have just announced plans to launch a joint venture and build a new U.S. assembly plant. A new auto plant would be a major boost to U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to boost manufacturing and expand employment for American autoworkers.
Japan’s Nikkei reported on Thursday that Toyota would take a roughly 5% stake in Mazda Motor Corp to develop key electric vehicle technologies and jointly build a factory in the United States.
Toyota, in a statement, said the two companies have been exploring various areas of collaboration under a May 2015 agreement.
Toyota, the world’s second-largest automaker by vehicle sales in 2016 and Japan’s dominant car company, has been forging alliances with smaller Japanese rivals for several years, effectively consolidating the Japanese auto sector.
