Auto Plant In Bay Minette?

A major announcement is expected this week about a new car plant in Baldwin County.

News 5 has confirmed that the name of the company is Hybrid Kinetic Automotive (Motors). The company is owned by an exiled Chinese auto executive named Yong "Benjamin" Yeung.

Yeung's plan is to build a "full family" of affordable hybrid-electric cars on 3,000 acres in northeast Bay Minette, just east of Highway 287 and south of I-65.

According to published reports, the company would build a multi-billion dollar facility and hire some 5-thousand workers. Yeung wants to ultimately produce 1 million hybrids a year.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley is expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday morning in Montgomery.

This plan does have its skeptics. Even though the site has been chosen, the money to build the giant facility still hasn't been secured.