Last Friday, Mazda announced a new assembly plant in Mexico to build Mazda2 and Mazda3 models, which had many observers wondering if there is any connection with the transfer of Mazda6 production from Flat Rock, MI to Japan.
After some clarification by the automaker, it appears the two announcements are unrelated.
That's what Mazda president and CEO Takashi Yamanouchi just told to Automotive News. It's merely ''a coincidence'' that the company disclosed plans to build a factory in Mexico only weeks after confirming the end of Mazda6 production at the Auto Alliance International plant (a joint venture with Ford).
Yamanouchi's public statement doesn't make the future of AAI any clearer, though. Right now, the facility manufactures both the Mazda6 and Ford Mustang. Mazda has not said whether it will build another vehicle at Flat Rock, or even whether it will keep or sell its 50-percent stake in the assembly plant. All we know for sure is that the redesigned Mazda6 won't come out of there.
Source: Automotive News
After some clarification by the automaker, it appears the two announcements are unrelated.
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| Photo: Matthieu Lambert |
That's what Mazda president and CEO Takashi Yamanouchi just told to Automotive News. It's merely ''a coincidence'' that the company disclosed plans to build a factory in Mexico only weeks after confirming the end of Mazda6 production at the Auto Alliance International plant (a joint venture with Ford).
Yamanouchi's public statement doesn't make the future of AAI any clearer, though. Right now, the facility manufactures both the Mazda6 and Ford Mustang. Mazda has not said whether it will build another vehicle at Flat Rock, or even whether it will keep or sell its 50-percent stake in the assembly plant. All we know for sure is that the redesigned Mazda6 won't come out of there.
Source: Automotive News