Posted on 06/06/2011 2:38:29 PM PDT by ReagansShinyHair
Mazda Motor Corp. is expected to end production of its vehicles in the United States.
The automaker is considering selling its 50-percent stake in its U.S. joint venture with Ford Motor Co., AutoAlliance International Inc. in Flat Rock, Michigan, to Ford in two years, sources said June 3.
Mazda is expected to shift production to its Hofu plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture and export vehicles to the United States.
President Takashi Yamanouchi has said: "I want to fundamentally solve the problems that Mazda is saddled with (such as the U.S. operations)."
In fiscal 2010, AutoAlliance International produced only 45,000 Mazda vehicles, less than 40 percent of its annual capacity of 120,000 units, because of poor sales.
A senior Mazda official said low production was making it impossible for the automaker to make money through the joint venture.
Mazda booked an extraordinary loss of 8.5 billion yen ($105 million) for depreciation of U.S. production facilities in its consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2010.
Ford was Mazda's largest shareholder with a 33.4-percent holding, but its stake fell to 3.5 percent in November after Ford sold assets in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Mazda, which assembles 70 percent of its vehicles in Japan, plans to expand production in other countries to reduce risks from currency exchange fluctuations. In fiscal 2010, the company lost 43.7 billion yen because of the yen's appreciation.
The company plans to build a factory in Mexico with a major trading house and is also investigating new plants in Russia and India.
Overseas production accounts for about half of vehicles made by rival automaker Toyota Motor Corp., while Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. make about 70 percent of their vehicles abroad.
I think ford will do just fine without mazda. I don’t understand why mazda would prefer to build their cars in japan. High labor costs there too and high shipping costs. They should build in mexico. cheap labor costs and not-to-bad shipping costs and virtually nonexistent environmental regs.
Can the NLRB rule that Mazda CAN’T close their operations?
That would seem to be the natural corollary after their ruling that Boeing can’t open a new plant in S. Carolina.
I had a 2000 Mustang convertible. The seats were the most uncomfortable of any car I've ever owned.
People in Illinois will be lacking their highway construction workers coming up soon (Hope and Change effective now in Obamaland and Rahmvllle). Wonder how many of those affected will vote Obama in 2012?:
Illinois highway construction halt could mean 52,000 layoffs
About 31,000 construction workers will be laid off starting June 17, according to a construction industry source.
Another 21,000 layoffs are anticipated from the shutdown of hundreds of other capital construction projects, ranging from high-speed rail to drinking water and wastewater projects, according to a memo prepared by the governor's office.
This imaginably produces a good smokescreen for the Obama CREEP: Obama can claim (accurately or otherwise) that Mazda is withdrawing its factory back to Japan to provide more domestic jobs to help try to solve the Fukushima crisis.
No big loss, considering that Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and now Volkswagen still have major operations here.
The new Mustang Convertible is light years beyond your 2000, It is now a BMW eater world class Sports Car. I have a Ford Enganeer friend that has a brand new one and it is amazing. The design queue's to honor the car's history are quite subtle yet beautiful.
On the Obama jobs, that sounds about right, "Porkulus" money is drying up and I don't think a GOP House will let him piss away another almost 1 Trillion on Utopian Fund Transfers. And I don't see how QE3 will get these jobs back either. Buckle up, it is going to get rough.
Mazda made in Mexico will be called the Mazda Mordida.
Tell that nonensense to the folks here in the USA building Toyotas by the thousands. The cars are not just assembled here. The Toyota Camry is the most American content car available
I like my Zoom...Zoom... It’s a 2008, but pretty much the same thing.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/car/2007-mazdaspeed3
What he said: President Takashi Yamanouchi has said: “I want to fundamentally solve the problems that Mazda is saddled with (such as the U.S. operations).”
What he meant: President Takashi Yamanouchi has said: “I want to fundamentally solve the problems that Mazda is saddled with (such as the frigging UNIONS!).”
I suppose taking your bat and ball and going home is one way to break the unions.
Ever hear of Bodine Aluminum? How about MOST? Egines, transmissions, bodys are all made in the USA. Your “assembled here “ argument is about twenty years outdated
The article says they're considering factories in Mexico, India, and Russia.
Toyota does not want to be here.Who's stopping them from leaving?
I do not believe that statement. When Toyota and GM were operating the Fremont GM plant (known as NUMMI) we routinely saw daily truckloads of Toyota Pickup frames, and drive train components being trucked down to the plant from Benicia where they were being off-loaded from ships from Japan. The Japanese carmakers don’t build the high dollar content parts of their US vehicles here. NUMMI was two things: A sheet metal stamping, assembly and painting operation for Corollas (and the bastard Pontiac that was a Corolla) and light truck cabs, and two assembly lines building these cars and trucks using mostly components that were made and assembled in Japan. As soon as GM went bankrupt, the NUMMI plant was “handed over” to Toyota, and they closed it because it was a UAW facility.
I suspect the UAW will finally crap out when imported Chinese cars arrive here in mass quantities. And with China holding so much of the debt, there’s nobody in the US govt that’s gonna tell them they can’t import.
I was told the same thing about steel mills. When the japanese companies started buying up american steel mills, all the top engineering positions were japanese men. no americans allowed.
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