Mazda Pulling Up Stateside Stakes
Mazda will stop making cars in the U.S. at around 2013, The Nikkei [sub] heard from unnamed sources inside of the Japanese company. It’s not that Mazda is leaving America. It’s more a continuing process of its divorce from Ford. Mazda wants to sell its share in AutoAlliance International Inc., a 50-50 U.S. joint venture with Ford, back to Ford.
Mazda currently manufactures the Atenza midsize car via AutoAlliance International. From 2013 on out, Mazdas will most likely come from Japan and Mexico, where Mazda will open a plant in 2013.
The people at AAI’s main plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, must feel like ping-pong balls. The factory was opened by Ford in 1972 as Michigan Casting Center. The plant was closed in 1981.In 1987, Mazda bought the plant and reopened it as Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA.
In 1992, Ford returned. Ford bought a 50 percent share in the plant, and the AutoAlliance International joint venture was born.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Mazda are fools to go to Mexico. But then again, they'd be fools to set up any factory in the US, since it is only a matter of months before this economy does another "2002" and "2008". The Greatest Depression is only months away, along with unrest as seen in the rest of the world. When people have nothing to eat, they get nasty.... I honestly wonder if they would be better to actually merge their worldwide operations with Mitsubishi (who are weak in the US but not weak in many other countries) buy the Oshawa plant from GM (which is tossing a bone to the UAW by moving Impala production to the US - despite the fact that Oshawa is historically GM's "best" plant). A reskinned Mazda 6 (with tooling machinery moved from Flat Rock) and a re-reskinned Mitsubishi Galant version would go down with both sets of dealer networks. The two brands could be differentiated sufficiently to flourish; Mazda would become the more "mainstream" brand, while Mitsubishi would become the "eco-niche-and-performance" brand. It's just a thought. Alternately, I know there is a huge empty factory in a right-to-work state begging for a buyer - cheap. It is in Iowa, sorry, can't recall the name of the city but I recall it was on "I" street. But then again, not many people will be willing and able to buy new cars when the fit his the shan in the banana republic of goldman sachs once known as the USA. Got silver, food, guns and ammo?
Mazda isn't leaving the NA market. Moving to Mexico is probably based on following Ford production there for suppliers and maybe even labor. It's a bad move given the lawlessness and chaos we are seeing down there but Canada is out of the question and China is a tough place to start doing business in. Maybe the workers and politicians should start talking with Ford about how to save the plant. Come hat in hand and don't invite the UAW.
One thing is certain. There's lots of money to be made off the belief that the end is near. "People arent buying Mazdas! It's sure sign of the apocalypse!" It's so absurd, that I just have to laugh.
I dunno about the rest of you but I SEE Mazdas all over the place here in Seattle, especially the Mazda3 but I'm seeing Mazda2's selling and I see lots of Miatas, both old ones and new ones on the road as I see Tributes and the old Ranger based Mazda trucks, which appears aren't even sold anymore by Mazda. I also see some Mazda5's too but not as many as I do the 3 and of course, the ol RX8 sells here too. So they ARE doing alright in at least SOME areas of the country. That said, Fiat and Chrysler by extension has a plant in Toluca Mexico and others have a plant, or two down there so why not if that helps Mazda stay in N. A.?