DRIVE! for the Future

Accelerating the Tennessee Valley Automotive Industry

About the Initiative

DRIVE! for the Future will accelerate the development of a strong and growing automotive cluster in the Tennessee Valley, the fifth largest region in the country for automotive industry employment.

The Community

Automotive manufacturing accounts for more than one third of advanced industry employment in Tennessee, serving as an anchor for a nascent ecosystem of research and innovation and employing a highly skilled and educated workforce. In the past 24 months alone, 151 manufacturers have announced expansions or new locations in the DRIVE! region. The region is now home to six major automotive manufacturers and 582 manufacturers in the automotive supply chain, employing more than 90,000 people.

The Vision

The DRIVE! for the Future Consortium’s (DRIVE!) initiative will accelerate the development of a strong and growing automotive cluster in the Tennessee Valley, already the fifth largest region in the country for automotive industry employment.

To catapult the competitiveness of its industry to the next level, DRIVE! will invest in the region’s public and private research and innovation assets, rapidly accelerating the region’s growth while reaching new heights of global automotive leadership. The DRIVE! strategy will integrate the region’s research and innovation resources with both training institutions and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region to ensure that the region remains globally competitive and continues to emerge as a leading center for advanced automotive technologies.

The Tennessee Valley region is home to six major automotive manufacturers with a supply chain of over 900 mostly small- and medium-sized businesses, employing more than 100,000 people.

About IMCP

DRIVE! for the Future is an Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative for a 69-county region in central Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia. IMCP is designed to encourage communities to develop comprehensive economic development strategies that will strengthen their competitive edge for attracting global manufacturer and supply chain investments.