Daimler has chosen Michigan as the site for a new $10 million research center focusing on alternative propulsion systems, such as hybrid technology. The German auto giant was previously considering building the center in South Carolina or California but chose Michigan following the promise of a substantial tax credit from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) board.

A representative for Daimler told Automotive News that "it was the Detroit work force" that swayed the company into choosing Michigan, although the $7.5 million tax credit being granted to the company certainly had a large role to play.

The new research center will be somewhere around the Ann Arbour area, although an exact site will not be chosen until June 15th this year. Officials from Michigan are expecting the center to provide around 450 jobs and over $16 million in taxation revenue for the state within a decade.

While Michigan may currently be the home of what the public perceives to be behind-the-times auto industry, officials are working to make the state a new hub of industrial development. On top of a new research and development center being built by Daimler, officials are also wooing Magna Electronics, a subsidiary of Canadian manufacturer Magna International that produces hybrid vehicle components, with significant tax benefits to induce them into expanding their operations as well.