Mazda might setup plants in Thailand and United States

Media group Nihon Keizai has said in a report that Mazda Motor Corp. is planning to invest more than 50 billion yen to setup a manufacturing plant in Thailand in collaboration with Ford Motor.

The company might even setup a plant in the United States in the near future. The company is owned one third by the US automaker Ford and they might be interested in bringing their fuel-efficient Mazda models in the United States market.

The report claimed that Mazda and Ford are aiming to begin production at their upcoming Thai plant by 2009. It would be manufacturing several cars including 1.3-litre Demio model and the plant would have a capacity of rolling out around 200,000 vehicles per year.

The paper also said that Mazda positions the Demio as its global strategic vehicle and they would be exporting it to the US market from this plant.

Mazda responded by saying that they cannot confirm any such plans for now but they are considering various possibilities to boost capacity, both in Japan and abroad.

Popularity: 15% [?]