Mazda's Entire Line 'Up For Discussion' In Future Salamanca Expansion Plans

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: February 17th, 2015

mazda s entire line up for discussion in future salamanca expansion plans

Sometime in the future, your next Mazda6 could be assembled and shipped to the showroom from Mazda’s factory in Salamanca, Mexico.

According to Automotive News, Mazda North American Operations CEO Jim O’Sullivan says that when it comes time to add more vehicles to the Salamanca production line, the entire collection would be up for discussion:

We’re continuing to look at opportunities for that plant, and asking what else should we consider putting into it. You don’t build an assembly plant for one product. It’s going to be an ongoing investment.

The decision to add more vehicles to the line is linked to Mexico’s own free-trade agreements with a number of countries throughout the world, a greater influence for automakers to consider building its wares there than the nation’s low-cost labor.

The Mazda2 and Mazda3 are currently in production in Salamanca, with a version of the former for Toyota to begin assembly late in 2016.

#FreeTradeAgreements #JimO'Sullivan #Mazda #Mexico #ProductionExpansion #Salamanca

Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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Richard Chen on Feb 17, 2015

Article from Globe & Mail, and how this also impacts the Canadian auto industry http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/latin-american-business/mexico-feature/article22987307/

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Wmba on Feb 17, 2015

And Brazil is trying to renege on its new Free Trade Deal with Mexico coming up at the end of March, because companies like Mazda are shipping in too much product. Brazil, ever the proponent of massive import duties so that foreign companies have to build branch plants making last decade's (or earlier) products on used production equipment not wanted anywhere else, is quite upset that all these new factories are going to Mexico. http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0LG2XW20150212?irpc=932 Here's a line from the article: "A car sold in Mexico can cost as little as half the retail price in Brazil, where high taxes, transportation bottlenecks, powerful unions and trade protections have hurt competitiveness."

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Tinn-Can on Feb 17, 2015

After owning a 2007 Mazda which has turned into a giant baby rattle, I don't think I would buy another one even if it were made in Japan... Mexican Mazda wouldn't even get looked at...

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- Inodes on Feb 19, 2015
  
  It's a different company now. Mazda's 2007 primary focus was - make affordable cars that are fun to drive in their segment but borrow from the Ford part bin to keep costs down. Ford left Mazda and Volvo to keep it's costs down, and it was a wake up call. The Mazda CEO decided to put all chips down. Cars had to keep zoom zoom mantra, but also be class leading with fuel. And it's paid off. The tiny Mazda (it's a niche car company in Japan), spent up big. Only Japanese car manufacturer to take every single part, throw it in the bin and start clean sheet coming up with it's crappy marketing term - Skyactiv. Clean sheet transmissions, engines, chassis - heck even a new way to press metal based on Samurai swords. 20+ world records created along the way. Gram by gram analysis on every vehicle. If you thought you shouldn't look at a Mazda after your 2007 model, look again. Auto Bild magazine in Germany would have you do it. In their 3 year, invensive 100,000km fault finding tests - only 3 cars have had zero faults, 2 of them were Mazda's. This year, they said had the CX-5 not had a minor fix (related to oil on the diesel - which ended up being a software fix), it would have been the 4th zero fault vehicle. On top of that, past two years - Mazda has taken out most fuel economic model range in the US. Not bad.
  
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Tosh on Feb 19, 2015

Maybe the Mazda6 Wagon will come 'up for discussion' again. (pfft!) Where's that frickin diesel? And where's the Miata Shooting Break?

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