Chattanooga among two finalists for Toyota plant, newspaper says

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette cited three unnamed sources the paper said were familiar with the Japanese carmaker?s expansion plans. One source said Toyota could choose a location in the next month.

Previous news reports have said the company was considering the Marion and Tennessee sites as well as a location in Crockett County, Tenn., and another site in North Carolina.

Daniel Sieger, spokesman for Toyota in Erlanger, Ky., would only say that Toyota was studying expansion in North America and was researching sites.

Four years ago, the 1,750-acre site near Marion was one of two finalists for Toyota?s Tundra pickup plant. Toyota selected San Antonio for the factory, and began production in November. Kay Brockwell, economic development director for Marion, said of the city being a finalist: ?I hope that?s true.? She declined to comment further.

The Toyota plant would be its eighth in North America. The company was the third-largest U.S. auto manufacturer last year, passing DaimlerChrysler. Toyota had 15.4 percent of the U.S. market last year, behind General Motors at 24.6 percent and Ford at 17.5 percent.