Kentucky's automotive industry produced more vehicles and increased its employment in 2015.
The Kentucky Automotive Industry Association says the state maintained its status as the nation's third-largest producer of cars and light trucks. The group says new statistics show production of passenger vehicles rose by 2.4 percent in Kentucky last year to more than 1.3 million cars and trucks.
It says the auto industry employed nearly 90,000 people statewide last year, up from 85,552 in 2014.
In another sign of growth, it says the industry announced 79 new projects last year totaling $2.8 billion in investments.
The growth spread to the state's suppliers of automotive parts, services and technologies. That sector announced 75 investments in new or expanding locations last year, which are projected to create 2,593 jobs.