Mazda will evaluate adding more models to the production lines at its new Salamanca plant in Mexico, according to an Automotive News interview with Jim O’Sullivan, CEO of Mazda North American Operations. “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 investment,” he said. Currently, the plant builds the Mazda3 and the Mazda2. A subcompact for Toyota will follow in late 2016. O’Sullivan sees Mexico’s free-trade agreements are a more compelling reason than the lower-cost labour available in the country.
Significance: Considering additional product for the plant could assist Mazda with trade to more markets. IHS Automotive forecasts the Salamanca plant to see production reach 275,000 units in 2021 – on the strength of the currently planned products. Mazda had built the Mazda6 sedan in the US for several generations, at the former Auto Alliance plant in Flat Rock, Michigan; that was a venture with Ford, which ended with production of the current Mazda6.
