HUNTSVILLE, AL—A pair of Japanese automotive parts manufacturers have announced plans to build new factories in northern Alabama to supply the Mazda Toyota joint-venture assembly plant under construction here. Together, the facilities are expected to employ 780 people.

VALENCIA, Spain—Autonomous vehicles from Ford are still a few years away, but one little robot is already showing what’s possible.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—Global defense and security company Saab has announced plans to bring a new assembly plant to Purdue University’s campus, creating up to 300 new jobs.

LORDSTOWN, OH—General Motors Co. is in discussions to sell its idled assembly plant here to Workhorse Group Inc., a manufacturer of electric vehicles.

LANSING, MI–The Michigan Strategic Fund is supporting planned expansions by three Tier 1 suppliers that will generate nearly $30 million in private investment and create 262 jobs in northern and southeast Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation recently announced. The three suppliers are Concord Tool and Manufacturing Inc., erae AMS USA Manufacturing LLC and Ventra Evart LLC.

GREENVILLE, SC—Lockheed Martin formally opened its new F-16 production line in a refurbished hangar here late last month. The assembly of F-16s is expected to start later this year, according to the company.

YOUNGSTOWN, OH—Royal DSM and JuggerBot 3D recently announced a trial program that lets companies evaluate engineering-grade materials in an industrial-grade filament printer without the upfront investment in hardware.

BREMEN, Germany—Although the 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV won't be arriving at U.S. dealers until sometime next year, the first production version just rolled off the line in Germany.

STAMFORD, CT—More manufacturers are investing in digital twin technology. In fact, a recent survey conducted by Gartner Inc. claims that 75 percent of organizations implementing Industry 4.0 initiatives already use digital twins or plan to within a year.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK—Printed circuit supplier Trackwise has produced an 85-foot-long multilayer flexible circuit—said to be the world’s longest—for distributing power and control signals across the wings of a solar-powered drone.