GULF SHORES — A hybrid car plant promising to employ more than 5,000 people and churn out 300,000 cars in its first year of production has plans to construct a $1.5 billion plant on a Baldwin County megasite, it was announced Thursday.

The announcement that Hybrid Kinetic Motors would be locating at the Bay Minette site was made during the Baldwin County Economic Alliance's annual Investor's meeting at the Beach Club on Fort Morgan.

The plant, located on a 3,000-acre megasite south of Interstate 65, would be operational in three to five years.

HK Motors is a developer of "green" hybrid cars powered by a new technology and is led by Chinese businessman Benjamin Yeung.

"(Yeung) had a dream of building the best high-tech, green auto in the world,” said Robert Ingram, director of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. “He chose Baldwin County as the place to do that.”

Charles Huang, vice chairman of HK Motors, said the plant will employ cutting-edge technology in production of its environmentally conscious vehicles.

Unlike many hybrids that are economy size, HK's cars will be mid-size to luxury size, comparable to a Mercedes S-Class.

"We will start with cars, producing about 300,000 each year,” he said. “The cars are multi-fuel and battery. They get 45 miles per gallon on gas, but the principle fuel is natural gas. Using that it will get a much higher MPG.

"It also has the lowest CO2 emmission," he said.

Baldwin County Commissioner Frank Burt said it took the work of many people to make the recruitment of Hybrid Kinetics a reality.

"Words can't express the excitement," he said. "I might have facilitated this, but it could not have happened without the hard work of people like (Bay Minette mayor Jamie Tillery) and Hiram Templeton (manager of the Bay Minette branch of Alabama Power)."

HK Motors’ plans are preliminary, and the company must raise more money before the state will negotiate business incentives. The timetable for the plant would have production beginning by 2014 if the plans are realized.

Still, Bob Beauregard of the American Public Gas Association said the promise of a new industry finding its home in Baldwin County will have an impact that stretches far beyond the local area.

"This is great for Alabama, great for Bay Minette and great for Baldwin County," he said. "It will have an effect on the nation."