Over the past 15 years, the Southeastern United States has become an integral part of the national and worldwide economy. Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina are major centers of manufacturing for cars, light trucks and vehicle parts for the world’s largest automakers: DaimlerChrysler-Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Ford and the General Motors’ Chevrolet and Saturn lines.

Because of the great economic success of automobile and automotive components manufacturing in the region, the Southeast is poised to become a major center for development and implementation of hydrogen-fueled vehicles and the supporting Hydrogen Highway infrastructure. But just as California’s visionary Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently discovered when support for his state’s Hydrogen Highway wavered, the road to success is fraught with potholes.

This paper takes a look at the rapid growth of the auto industry in the Southeast and government’s involvement in the success of this transplanted industry. Past government policies that contributed to the rapid success of auto manufacturing in the region are analyzed for relevance to the current and future development of hydrogen-fueled technology. The paper recommends additional actions government can take that are supportive of manufacturing automotive products based on renewable energy hydrogen technology. If implemented, these additional policies will help the Southeast maintain a leadership position in the automotive industry as the conversion to hydrogen-fueled vehicles and the Hydrogen Highway become a reality in the United States.