Benzinga | Sep 30, 2021 03:33PM EDT

Toyota JV Commences Production Of 2022 Corolla Cross, Could Hire About 4K Employees

* Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) and Mazda Motor Corp (OTC:MZDAY) joint venture partnership Mazda Toyota Manufacturing commenced producing the all-new 2022 Corolla Cross.

* MTM is the only North American facility to produce the Corolla Cross.

* MTM is hiring over 1,700 additional employees to join its existing workforce, eventually reaching up to 4,000 once production is in operation next year.

* The plant can produce 300,000 vehicles a year, evenly split between the two nameplates.

* MTM's investment increased to $2.3 billion when the parent companies announced an additional $830 million commitment in the summer of 2020 to incorporate more cutting-edge technologies into its manufacturing processes.

* Price Action: TM shares traded lower by 3.71% at $178.57 on the last check Thursday.