Mazda starts production at new transmission plant in Thailand

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that mass production of transmissions has begun at its newly set up transmission plant, Mazda Powertrain Manufacturing (Thailand) Co (MPMT), located in the Chonburi prefecture of Thailand.

The Skyactiv-Drive automatic transmission produced at the plant is one of Mazda’s new-generation Skyactiv Technologies that provide both driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance at the same time. Annual production capacity at MPMT is around 400,000 units and in combination with Hofu Plant in Japan, the new plant will raise Mazda’s annual production capacity to approximately 1,540,000 units globally. Transmissions produced at MPMT will be supplied to global production facilities including Auto Alliance (Thailand) to be used in the all-new Mazda2 (Mazda Demio in Japan), all-new Mazda3 (Mazda Axela) and Mazda CX-5.

At the commencement of production, MPMT president and CEO Hidenori Kawakami commented, “We’ve made great efforts to ensure the manufacture of high quality units at MPMT, including sending more than 30 engineers and managers to Mazda’s plants in Hiroshima and Hofu. Start of mass production here means that Mazda has succeeded in establishing a global production structure capable of supplying Skyactiv-Drive automatic transmissions of the same high quality of those we make in Japan.”

The establishment of a global production footprint is one of the key measures of Mazda’s Structural Reform Plan announced in February 2012. The company has been making steady progress in this regard and the start of transmission production at MPMT marks another important milestone. In addition, Mazda is introducing vehicles equipped with Skyactiv Technology according to schedule and expects Skyactiv models to account for over 85 percent of sales by fiscal year ending March 2016.