General Discussion

The first Japanese automobile plant in the US was Honda's Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio, which began production in 1982. The first vehicle produced there was the Honda Accord. Since then - - -

Several foreign-owned automotive companies have manufacturing plants in the United States. These include BMW (Spartanburg, SC), Mercedes-Benz (Vance, AL and Ladson, SC), Volkswagen (Chattanooga, TN), Hyundai (Montgomery, AL), Kia (West Point, GA), and Toyota (various locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, and Mississippi). There are also Japanese automakers like Honda (Marysville, OH) and Subaru (Lafayette, IN) with significant production in the US.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:

BMW: Their Spartanburg, South Carolina plant is a major production hub for their X series SUVs.

Mercedes-Benz: They have facilities in Vance, Alabama, where they produce various models like the GLE and GLS, and in Ladson, South Carolina, where they manufacture the Metris and Sprinter vans. "Bama Benz" is a slang term, particularly used in Alabama, referring to Mercedes-Benz vehicles that are produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama -- Vance is the sole location for producing certain Mercedes-Benz SUV models for global markets, including the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, and Mercedes-Maybach GLS. The plant also produces the EQE SUV, EQS SUV, and Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV.

Volkswagen: Their Chattanooga, Tennessee plant produces the Passat, Atlas, and ID.4.

Hyundai: Their Montgomery, Alabama factory produces the Sonata, Santa Fe, and Elantra.

Kia: Their West Point, Georgia plant manufactures the Optima and Sorento.

Toyota: They have multiple plants across the country, including in Kentucky (Camry, Lexus ES350), Indiana (Sienna, Highlander), Texas (Tundra, Sequoia), and Mississippi (Corolla).

Honda: Their Marysville, Ohio plant is a major production site for the Accord, Acura TLX, Acura NSX, and Acura ILX.

Subaru: The Subaru Lafayette, Indiana, plant produces the Subaru Outback, Legacy, Ascent, and Impreza for the American market. (My Subaru Outback purchased in March 2025 was manufactured in Lafayette, IN.)

Volvo: Volvo has a manufacturing plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, where they produce the Volvo S60 and the fully electric EX90 SUV.

Volvo Trucks: Volvo Trucks North America produces its trucks at the New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia. This facility is the sole producer of Volvo trucks for the North American market. This plant was recently expanded to build electric over-the-road Volvo trucks.

Then, there’s heavy construction equipment.

Volvo: Produces crawler excavators and large wheel loaders in Shippensburg, PA.

Hitachi: Operates a customer experience headquarters in Georgia and has been actively introducing new products.

SANY: Manufactures excavators in Peachtree City, Georgia. SANY is a multinational heavy equipment manufacturer, originally founded in China. It is the third-largest heavy equipment manufacturer globally.

Kobelco: Has a manufacturing plant in Moore, South Carolina according to Wikipedia. Kobelco is a brand name used by Kobe Steel, a major Japanese steel manufacturer. It is also the unified brand for their construction machinery division.