Mazda to leave Flat Rock plant it shares with Ford

Detroit News staff and wires
Mazda Motor Corp. will pull out of its manufacturing venture with Ford Motor Co. and stop making cars in Michigan, a Japanese newspaper reported Friday.

Ford and Mazda both declined to comment on the report.

But Mazda has been studying whether to keep making autos at the Flat Rock plant, and senior executives have said they expect to make a decision this year.

Mazda and Ford operate the AutoAlliance International plant as a 50-50 partnership. But the plant was running at less than half of its capacity last year, as its 1,700 workers produced just 36,000 Mazda6 cars and 78,000 Ford Mustangs on a single shift.

Citing unidentified company sources, the Nikkei business daily said Mazda was considering selling its stake to Ford as part of a restructuring of its global production operations.

Mazda would ship cars to the United States from Japan and from Mexico starting around 2013, according to the Nikkei.

The Japanese automaker said in a statement Friday that it had "nothing to announce at this time.

"Today's news report … is not based on information released by Mazda. We do not comment on speculation."

Several analysts expect Mazda to announce a decision soon.

"Mazda has signaled for months that it may be ending its U.S. manufacturing presence at the Flat Rock assembly plant, and although the company still hasn't confirmed the action, it seems circumstances are pointing in that direction," said Bill Visnic, senior analyst at online research firm Edmunds.com.

"Sales in the United States for the redesigned Mazda6 built at Flat Rock are running at about one-third of expectations," he said.

This year, Mazda has sold 103,072 vehicles in America, up 5.7 percent. But sales of Mazda6 cars, battling in the cutthroat midsize sedan segment, are down 8.9 percent at 13,604.

Ford has maintained employment at Flat Rock by increasing output of its vehicles at the plant, the Nikkei said.

But the ties binding the companies have loosened. Ford, once Mazda's controlling shareholder with a 33.4 percent stake, has reduced its holding to 3.5 percent.

In the meantime, Mazda is struggling financially. In the fiscal year ended March 31, its losses widened to 60 billion yen, or $742 million, from 6.5 billion yen, or $76 million, in the previous year.

The Hiroshima-based automaker attributed the deterioration in its results to lackluster sales in Japan, the initial impact of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the strength of the yen. Mazda exports around 80 percent of the vehicles it makes in Japan.

Source;
http://www.detnews.com/article/20110604/AUTO01/106040319/1148/AUTO01/Report--Mazda-to-leave-Flat-Rock-plant-it-shares-with-Ford

Carscoop: R.I.P. Mazda6 and Subaru Tribeca?!?

Mazda and Subaru may soon be forced to axe two of their models in the US market, the Mazda6 mid-size vehicle and the Subaru Tribeca SUV, due to low volumes that undermine the efficiency of the U.S. plants that they are built in, according to a newspaper report from Japan’s business daily Nikkan Kogyo. It should be noted though that spokesmen for both companies declined to comment on the report.

Nikkan Kogyo wrote that Mazda is planning to discontinue production of the Mazda6 at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant, which it operates as a joint venture together with Ford Motor Co., as sales missed expectations. When Mazda introduce the latest generation of the mid-size model in 2008, the company expected an annual production of around 100,000 units, but last year, the plant churned out just 45,168 Mazda6s. In April, Mazda6 posted an increase of 7.8 percent but sales reached just 2,734 vehicles.

But being that the mid size segment is an important category, the report says that Mazda is mulling other options including the introduction of another model or build a similar vehicle at a lower cost factory in Mexico.

As for the Tribeca, which has been in production since 2005 at Subaru’s Indiana plant, the Japanese newspaper said the company has stopped the development of a new version and plans to use the increased capacity to build the better selling Outback and Legacy. This year through April, Subaru sold just 910 examples of the SUV model.

Source;
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/05/mazda6-and-subaru-tribeca-to-be-axed.html

Mazda recalls 2009-10 Mazda6 for spider webs causing fuel leaks

Wow, now how did the engineers miss this obvious flaw?!? (sarcasm detected)

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling 52,000 2009-10 Mazda6 vehicles over concerns the fuel tank could crack and leak — because of spider webs.

The highly unusual recall covers vehicles built at the Auto Alliance plant in Flat Rock between April 2008 and February 2010.

Mazda told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that "a certain type of spider may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line."

That could lead to pressure in the emission control system that could stress the fuel tank and lead to a crack.

Mazda said it found a spider web when it reviewed a complaint in October 2009. The company will include a "spring to prohibit spider intrusion" and the computer will be reprogrammed to prevent a build-up of pressure in the emission control system.

Mazda will begin notifying owners March 14.

Source;
http://detnews.com/article/20110303/AUTO01/103030430/1148/Mazda-recalls-2009-10-Mazda6-for-spider-webs-causing-fuel-leaks

Mazda May Exit From U.S. Factory Operated With Ford

By Makiko Kitamura and Yuki Hagiwara - Feb 18, 2011

Mazda Motor Corp. may pull out from a U.S. factory it operates jointly with Ford Motor Co. after production turned unprofitable, Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki said.

The company will announce plans for the factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, by middle of this year, Ozaki told reporters in Tokyo today. Mazda may also consider overhauling the plant or changing the models built there, he said without elaboration.

Mazda, Japan’s second-largest auto exporter, has been hurt by the yen’s sustained rise against the U.S. dollar in recent months. The Hiroshima-based company’s U.S. sales fell 9 percent in January, as increased incentives on Toyota Motor Corp.’s Corolla compact, and demand for Hyundai Motor Co.’s Elantra sapped demand for the Mazda3, Ozaki said.

A decision by Mazda to leave the plant shared with Ford since the 1980s “wouldn’t catch Ford off guard,” said Kim Hill, an economist with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“Unlike several other Ford facilities, Flat Rock hasn’t had a major recent investment in flexibility,” Hill said. “If Mazda were to leave, Ford would probably want to look at putting something off its small-car platform in that facility.”

Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, declined to comment.

The Michigan plant needs to run at 70 percent of its full 240,000 annual capacity to make a profit, Ozaki said earlier today. Mazda aims to introduce a more fuel-efficient engine to spur demand and increase domestic production to improve economies of scale after slipping into a third-quarter loss.

Mazda will need to adjust U.S. inventory by 5,000 units through the end of March, he said.

Ford’s Stake
Mazda aims to increase domestic production 33 percent to 1.1 million units in the year ending in March 2016, compared with 827,910 units last fiscal year. The ratio of exports will also increase as demand for cars in Japan declines, he said.

Mazda’s Michigan plant produced about 54,000 units last year, Ozaki said.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, reduced its stake in Mazda to 3.5 percent from 11 percent last year, scaling back an alliance of more than 30 years. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker formed an automatic-transmission joint venture with Mazda in 1969 and acquired a 25 percent stake in the Japanese automaker in 1979.

The U.S. carmaker took effective control of the Japanese company in 1996, raising its stake to 33.4 percent. It reduced the stake to 13 percent in November 2008, and a share issue by Mazda in 2009 further shrank the holding to 11 percent.

New Powertrain
Mazda plans to introduce its new “Skyactiv” powertrain system across almost all models by 2015, starting with the domestic, U.S. and Australian markets this year. Earlier this month, the carmaker reported a third-quarter loss, citing the strength of the Japanese currency which reached a 15-year high in November.

The new Demio compact, the first model to use the system, will go on sale in Japan in the first half of 2011 and runs 30 kilometers per liter of gasoline under the Japanese testing system, Mazda said in October. The new car’s fuel-economy rating is the same as the hybrid version of Honda Motor Co.’s Fit and better than the current Demio’s 23 kilometers per liter.

Yen’s Impact
With exports making up 80 percent of Japan production in 2010, Mazda is more vulnerable to the yen’s impact than its domestic rivals. The strong yen against the dollar cut nine- month operating profit by 13.6 billion yen ($163 million), the company said this month.

Mazda posted a net loss of 2.7 billion yen for the three months ended Dec. 31. The company will still meet its full-year profit forecast of 6 billion yen as sales in Japan recover, Ozaki said.

While the strong yen erodes profitability of exports, Mazda needs to increase domestic output to boost economies of scale, the company has said. It aims to increase domestic production 33 percent to 1.1 million units in the year ending in March 2016, compared with 827,910 units last fiscal year, Ozaki said today.

Source;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-02-18/mazda-s-cash-position-won-t-improve-next-fiscal-year-cfo-says.html

2012 Mazda MX-5/Miata Illustrations

Wow, now that is aggressive looking! Hopefully they put something under the hood to match these illustrations!
Source;
http://www.woodyscarsite.com/2010/12/2012-mazda-mx-5-miata.html

Video: 2011 Mazda2 - Good, but not quite (Honda) Fit

You know that the Honda FIT is a good car when it's used as a benchmark when comparing other good cars....

The subcompact Mazda2 isn't a bad car, but "not bad" isn't enough to take the world by storm. In today's competitive car market, there are plenty of really good cars to pick from.

Good fuel mileage is a big reason buyers go for small cars. The Mazda2 returned an average of 30 mpg overall with an automatic transmission and 33 with the manual in our testing. While that's not too shabby, it isn't outstanding these days. The larger and more comfortable Toyota Corolla compact returned 32 mpg overall in our tests with an automatic, and the midsize Hyundai Sonata GLS clocked in at 27 mpg overall.

Both of those cars are newer designs than the wee Mazda, and that's one of the 2's problems: Engine, transmission, and other technologies are advancing so fast that an older design just can't deliver the fuel economy of newer models. And the Mazda2 is an older design, having been on sale in Japan, Europe, and other markets for several years before being introduced to U.S. buyers earlier this year.

That leads to the other problem. There's good reason why carmakers bring certain models to certain markets and don't bring others. Roads, driving habits, and lifestyles vary tremendously around the world. The Mazda2 does not drive like it was designed for U.S. roads. That's because it wasn't.

The 2 is a kick to drive around town, zipping in and out of tight spaces and easy to park. On back roads, it's also entertaining to toss around. But the 2 isn't a fun cruiser. It's noisy on those highways we Americans rely on to get around so much, with a choppy ride, and it can feel a bit darty, requiring a lot of steering correction to stay on course.

Honda brought the subcompact Fit to our shores a few years ago, and it, too, was a design not intended for the U.S market. But with much more interior room and a clever folding rear seat that turns it into a mini cargo truck, the Fit has been a hit with American buyers. It's one of our top-Rated subcompacts.

The Mazda2 entered the increasingly crowded subcompact category as a contender and outscored some others in our testing. But it isn't as Fit as some others.

Source;
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/video-2011-mazda2-good-but-not-quite-fit.html

Honda, Mazda Improve Bottom Lines

TOKYO—Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. both said that sales was growing strongly in Asia and North America as both reported improved earnings for the quarter.

Honda fared better of the two, reporting a surge in net profit of 272.49 billion yen ($3.13 billion) in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, a huge jump from 7.56 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. The company also boosted its full-year outlook as solid sales in Asia and North America and cost-reductions more than offset the impact of the yen's strength.

Operating profit grew more than nine-fold to yen 234.44 billion in the April-June quarter, from 25.16 billion yen a year earlier.

The net profit beat the average forecast for a 106.78 billion yen based on a survey of four analysts compiled by the Tokyo-based financial information service provider Quick.

Honda, Japan's third-largest car maker by sales volume, said sales rose 17.9% to 2.361 trillion yen in the three months ended June from 2.002 trillion yen.

For the current fiscal year through March, Honda said it now expects group net profit of 455 billion yen against earlier forecast of 340 billion yen and operating profit of 450 billion yen against 400 billion yen.

Its full-year sales outlook was trimmed to 9.100 trillion yen from earlier-projected 9.340 trillion yen even as it raised its global vehicle sales target to 3.640 million units from 3.615 million units projected in April on an anticipated boost in sales for Asia.

Honda also said it will buy back up to 12 million shares for 25 billion yen and cancel 1.3% of outstanding shares Aug. 6.

Meanwhile, Mazda said Friday sales in North America and China, along with cost cuts, helped it narrow net losses in its fiscal first quarter, leaving it on track to return to profit this fiscal year after restructuring.

The company said said its retail sales rose 21% by volume in North America and 28% in China, which caused revenue to increase 35% to 578.0 billion yen from 428.2 billion yen last time.

Mazda, in which Ford Motor Co. owns an 11% stake, said its net loss narrowed to 2.10 billion yen in the last quarter, compared with a net loss of 21.5 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.

Though it finished the period in the red, Japan's fifth-biggest car maker by volume did log an operating profit of 6.37 billion yen in the April-June quarter, compared with an operating loss of 28 billion yen a year earlier.

Mazda, best known as the maker of the Mazda3 subcompact and the MX-5 Miata convertible, left unchanged its forecast for the current fiscal year through March.

The car maker continues to expect a net profit of 5 billion yen, an operating profit of yen 30 billion and sales of 2.270 trillion yen.

Honda reports earnings under U.S. accounting standards. Mazda reports earnings under Japanese accounting standards.

Source;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703999304575398510078219100.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Honda Civic barely maintains No. 1 spot

I find it funny how everybody is riding Honda for delaying the redesign (to continue to leapfrog the market by 4 years) and how the newly redesigned (and nice I might add too) Mazda 3 has been gaining ground. If anything, this is a testament as to how good Honda engineering actually is, this 2010 (and soon to be 2011) is relatively unchanged since 2006, yet it is still extremely competitive, how many other manufacturers can you say have a 5yrs old car that still leads the market in sales. Having said that, I cannot wait to see what Honda has in store for the next gen Civic!
The Mazda3 is quickly gaining ground as the popular Honda compact awaits a redesign

Sales of the Honda Civic have crashed in Canada, though this stalwart compact has reclaimed the No. 1 sales spot among passenger cars. Barely.

The Civic has out-sold the Mazda3 by a mere 218 units through May of this year (21,690 to 21,472). However, Civic sales were down an astounding 40.6 per cent in May and are down 13.2 per cent on the year. The No. 2 Mazda3 is up 8.3 per cent on the year.

Honda does not plan to restyle and reengineer the Civic until next year, even as new versions of the Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra come to market early next year. The Civic faces a tough road ahead until a reinvented version arrives.

Still, to be fair, small cars overall are having a tough year. As DesRosiers points out, subcompacts are down 21.2 per cent year to date and compacts are down 0.1 per cent on the year.

“These are the two most energy efficient segments in Canada and have for more than a decade significantly out-performed the market,” Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants writes in a note to clients.

“I wonder,” he adds, “if all this talk about fuel efficient regulations is backfiring on our regulators, with consumers heading to the showroom to load up on the larger vehicles before the government forces compromises in their power train to achieve higher fuel efficiency standards.”
It could also be that less wealthy buyers, who tend to buy entry-level cars, are “still in trouble in our economy” and not buying at all, he notes. Or it may be that consumers are fully aware that a raft of new compact and subcompact models are coming in the next 12 months and are waiting for the latest in styling and engineering.

Source;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/driving-it-home/honda-civic-barely-maintains-no-1-spot/article1623053/

Mazda RX-7 Revival Rumors Mark the End of RX-8

Mazda could introduce the new two-seater Mazda RX-7 by the end of 2011, according to InsideLine. The blog says the 2012 model year car is still progressing despite the poor economy.

The automaker may cancel the four-seater RX-8 upon the RX-7's release in contrast to earlier reports that a more powerful, more expensive RX-8 would come to market. Based on design characteristics of the Furai concept, the next-gen RX-8 would have carried over 300-horsepower.

However, by the end of the first quarter of 2009, RX-8 sales had plummeted 47.5% compared to a year earlier. Sluggish RX-8 sales may prompt the decision to halt the model for the time being. The new RX-7 will use the new-generation Renesis 16X rotary engine which debuted in the Taiki concept. This dual rotary Wankel engine has a roughly 300cc bigger displacement than the previous Renesis unit, putting out as much as 350hp and 214 ft-lb of torque over the RX-8's 232 hp and 159 lb-ft of torque.

Do not expect the RX-7 to be tuned for this much power, despite its engine's capabilities. A 250hp unit is more likely to appear on the $25,000 car, reports the blog.

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/109122823723/mazda-rx-7-revival-rumors-mark-the-end-of-rx-8

Next Gen Mazda 3 gets New Look and More Power

Looks like a nice car.

The new 2010 Mazda3 Sedan has been unveiled ahead of its official launch at the LA Auto Show and the Nagare design cues are plain to see. The twisted arches and fat lip treatment leave the car looking better built and more refined than other compacts cars in the market.

The aggressive good looks translate into a new MZR 2.5 liter four cylinder borrowed from the larger all-new 2009 Mazda6. The new engine uses the same construction features as the 2.0 liter but pushes out 167HP (versus 148HP in the 2.0) and almost 170 lb-ft of torque. You can have the engine mated to either a five-speed manual, six-speed manual or a five-speed selectable automatic.

For the rest of the article;

http://japancarblog.com/2010-mazda3-sedan-redesigned-repowered/

Mazda To Buy Back 20% Of Ford Ownership Stake For $185 Million

TO OWNER....

Ford to Change Ownership Stake in Mazda

- The two companies will continue their strategic relationship -

HIROSHIMA, November 18, 2008—Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) has announced today that Mazda and several of its strategic business partners will acquire a part of Ford Motor Company’s (Ford) shares in Mazda through market trading.

As a result, the ratio of Ford’s ownership of Mazda stock will be reduced from 33.4 percent to just over 13 percent, with the new agreement allowing the two companies to continue their strategic relationship that spans nearly 30 years.

“The sale of Mazda shares by our partner, Ford, will not result in any change in Mazda’s strategic direction and we will continue to accelerate our product-led brand improvement and cost innovation initiatives,” says Mazda’s Chairman, President and CEO, Hisakazu Imaki. “We will continue our strategic relationship through our ongoing joint ventures with Ford, as well as the sharing of platforms and powertrains.”

“This agreement allows Ford to raise capital that will help fund our product-led transformation, and at the same time, allows Ford and Mazda to continue our successful strategic relationship in the best interest of both companies,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally.

Ford’s sale of the Mazda stock will be achieved through Mazda and a group of Mazda’s strategic business partners each buying a portion of the shares.

Source;

http://jalopnik.com/5091700/mazda-to-buy-back-20-of-ford-ownership-stake-for-185-million

Civic Competitor Mazda 3 gets full Makeover for 2010

Looks like Mazda will officially introduce their new 2010 Mazda 3 for Novemeber 19th at the LA Auto Show. This is a VERY important car to Mazda and it looks like it's going to be an impressive offering. Coincidently, Honda was expected to have the Civic go through a major model change in 2010, although with the minor model change that the Civic went through for 2009, I'd expect a 2011 date for the full Civic make over.

Mazda PRESS RELEASE

All-New Mazda3 Sedan to Debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show

HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation has confirmed that the sedan version of the all-new Mazda3 (known as Mazda Axela in Japan), fully redesigned for the first time in 5 years, will be revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show*1 on November 19, 2008.

The covers will be pulled off during Mazda's press conference from 12:20 to 12:45 (local time) revealing the all-new Mazda3, the latest evolution of Mazda's Zoom-Zoom spirit.

All-new Mazda3 sedan (North American specification)

Every element of the all-new Mazda3 has been developed for heightened exhilaration, with a more refined sporty ride, top class fuel economy and quietness. Environmental and safety features, based on Mazda's long-term "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" vision, aim to achieve a balance with fun-to-drive. Add in a new expressive face and Mazda's dynamic design elements, and the all-new Mazda3 is everything a driver could ask for in a sports compact.

The brand new version of Mazda's best-selling sports compact carries forward the heritage of Mazda and the pedigree of the current Mazda3. Since its launch in 2003, the current Mazda3 has sold approx. 1.8 million vehicles*2 in over 100 countries and has won more than 90 global motoring awards*3 to date. The Mazda3 accounts for almost one in three Mazdas sold every year.

Following the world debut of the North American specification sedan with 2.0- and 2.5-liter engines at the show, the five-door hatchback version will be revealed in line with Mazda's global sales schedule.

Source;
http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/2008/200810/081009.html