Toyota and Mazda have agreed to open up a plant together that costs roughly $1.6 billion. Obviously that's a ton of cash, so they want to make sure that they settle down somewhere comfortable. The only problem right now is, they have absolutely no idea where to build the factory. There is, however, one state that appears to be the best of the best right now...

Mississippi.

That's right! Good ole' Mississippi. According to Bloomberg, they believe Mississippi would be the best location for the new plant, seeing as how it already has a Corolla factory and will make for an easy sell to the automakers. Here's a little more about what Bloomberg had to say:
 

The Magnolia State already is home to a Corolla factory that’s been producing the compact car for almost six years. Toyota and Mazda plan to open a $1.6 billion new facility to produce that model, plus a Mazda crossover, starting in 2021.

Hanging in the balance for states vying for the factory are 4,000 jobs that the two Japanese automakers expect to create through their joint investment. Locating the plant near Toyota’s existing manufacturing site in Blue Springs would enable the two to source parts from companies nearby that feed components to the Corolla. A head-start on a supplier network would be particularly attractive for Mazda, which doesn’t have a U.S. plant.

“We do have supply lines in the U.S. that are pretty extensive, particularly for the Corolla,” said Scott Vazin, a Toyota spokesman. “We hope these supply lines can be utilized for this new entity, because there are clearly some efficiencies in it.”


Only time will tell where this new plant ends up, but I could definitely see how Mississippi would be a frontrunner right now. Hopefully Mazda and Toyota make up their decision pretty soon, seeing as how they want everything to be completely finished up by 2021.