AutoAlliance Thailand inaugurates new passenger car plant

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced the completion of the new passenger car plant at AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT), a joint venture manufacturing facility with Ford Motor Company.

To celebrate the new plant's opening, Thailand's Crown Princess, HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, will be joined by Japan Ambassador Kyoji Komachi, U.S. Ambassador Eric John, and senior executives from Mazda, Ford, and AAT in a formal ceremony at the new state-of-the-art facility in Rayong's Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate.

The completed, highly flexible passenger car plant increases the total annual production capacity to 275,000 units (including CKD units) and will produce the Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta compact cars for sale in Thailand and export throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The plant utilizes the latest automotive manufacturing technologies and systems, including a new stamping line and body shop, trim and final process areas.

The completed paint shop can now accommodate both pickup trucks and passenger cars, and uses the environmentally-friendly Three Layer Wet Paint system, which dramatically reduces volatile organic compound (VOC) and CO2 emissions, and improves vehicle painting quality.

"The completion of the new AAT passenger car plant represents a tremendous achievement that is shared by all of our stakeholders - Ford, Mazda, the Thai government, and in particular, the Board of Investment, our suppliers, and certainly our dedicated AAT employees," said Kiyotaka Shobuda, president of AutoAlliance Thailand.