Last month, PSA Group chose Atlanta for its North American headquarters as the French automaker prepares to return to the U.S.

Its decision partly reflected the international reach of Atlanta's airport, which will give PSA's project team easy access to the Paris headquarters.

But Atlanta also is rapidly emerging as an auto industry hub for engineering and software development — something PSA will need as it unfurls a diverse mobility and ride-sharing U.S. business model over the next few years.

State officials have been offering incentives for investments in Atlanta to help turn it into a southeastern alternative to California's Silicon Valley or the Detroit engineering epicenter.