Toyota and Mazda seek $1 bn for US plant

Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor are pressing for an incentive package of at least $1 billion from US states trying to land their $1.6 billion joint car factory, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Toyota and Mazda plan to brief their boards on a short list of states contending for the plant in the coming weeks and announce a final selection by the end of year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Scott Vazin, a Toyota spokesman, and Jeremy Barnes, who represents Mazda, both declined to comment.

The tax breaks and other support Toyota and Mazda are said to be asking for could rival the package Nevada approved for Tesla’s Reno battery factory in 2014 that was valued at as much as $1.25 billion. The Japanese carmakers have positioned themselves to drive a hard bargain with states by pledging to create as many as 4,000 jobs.