Alabama Eyed as Site of New Aston Martin Manufacturing Plant - Madison County Chamber of Commerce News

UPDATED 11/16/20

Automotive manufacturers are bringing new jobs to Alabama with Aston Martin being the most recent brand to take advantage of the good manufacturing practices that are available. As the list of American manufacturing companies slowly shrinks, states like Alabama are relying more and more on overseas companies to bring in good manufacturing jobs. As the best manufacturing process is available due to the oversight that American companies bring to their products, luxury brands like Aston Martin have determined that bringing manufacturing stateside is beneficial to their bottom line.

British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin, which cites James Bond among its most-famous fans, is currently eyeing Alabama as the site of its newest U.S. manufacturing plant.

According to the Yellowhammer, the Aston Martin factory would likely produce its new DBX crossover utility vehicle (CUV), a cross between a sedan and sports utility vehicle that was announced in March of this year.

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said the company is hoping to set up a foothold near industrial partner Mercedes-Benz’s plant, located in Vance. Such a location would offer convenience and cost-savings, and would allow Aston Martin to equip its newly-produced vehicles with Mercedes technology.

An Alabama Aston Martin plant would also make it much easier for Aston Martin owners in the U.S. to get factory repairs; 85% of all cars need some form of repair or maintenance at any given time.

But can Alabama — the site of three other busy auto manufacturing plants — support a fourth major facility?

In a recent statement, Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said the state can “absolutely” accommodate another auto assembly plant, and is in the perfect position to attract another automaker while supporting its current industry.

“We do believe we have the locations and the capacity through incentives to accomplish this, and we believe we’ve got the efforts underway in the education community to build the workforce,” he said.

Last year, Alabama’s Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai plants produced a combined 1 million vehicles, AL.com reported.

While Canfield seemed to support the idea of another auto-making facility in Alabama, he declined to specifically comment on Aston Martin’s plans to construct a plant in the Yellowhammer State.

Palmer, meanwhile, stressed that while Alabama would be Aston Martin’s most viable option, the automaker is being courted by many U.S. states hoping to become the site of its newest plant, the Yellowhammer reported.