Car company to create 700 jobs, invest $280 million in South Carolina manufacturing plant

Posted by author February 12, 2025 Jobs

Car company to create 700 jobs, invest 0 million in South Carolina manufacturing plant

Spread the love

PIEDMONT, S.C. (WBTV) – An international car company will invest $280 million in a South Carolina facility to convert it to a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing plant that will create more than 700 jobs, officials said.

Isuzu — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial trucks — bought a one million-square-foot facility that sits on over 200 acres of property along Augusta Road in the Piedmont area of Greenville County.

South Carolina government officials said the new Isuzu plant is expected to be operational in 2027, and will have a production line that makes both gas and diesel-engine vehicles, as well as electric ones. The factory will be capable of producing 50,000 vehicles per year.

The state said Isuzu will provide more details about job opportunities “in the coming months.”

Isuzu’s new South Carolina factory is expected to be operational by 2027.(Shizuo Kambayashi | ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Noboru Murakami, president of Isuzu North America Corporation, said the company considered “numerous factors” when it looked for a place to build its new plant.

“We found everything that we wanted and more in the State of South Carolina and Greenville County: a supportive business environment, excellent access to transportation, proximity to the Port of Charleston, an excellent labor pool, a skilled workforce being produced by nearby colleges, and the benefits of joining a large and growing automotive production base,” Murakami said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Isuzu’s decision to build continues to prove the state is a “top destination” for automakers.

“Isuzu’s decision to establish operations and create more than 700 new jobs in Greenville County reinforces South Carolina as a top destination for the automotive industry,” McMaster said. “We celebrate this significant investment and all that it will mean for our people, and we look forward to witnessing the transformative impact this announcement will have in the years ahead.”

Isuzu first entered the North American truck market in 1984, and sold 44,000 vehicles in the most recent fiscal year, which marked its highest total ever.