Ford, Mazda open new $500 million manufacturing plant in Thailand

Posted Jul 13th 2009 4:45PM by Brian White
Filed under: Launches, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F)

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has been doing better than formerly-bankrupt competitors Chrysler and General Motors (after years of re-tooling and planning), and in an age where the auto market is being fundamentally re-shaped, the American icon continues its re-invention from the ground up. Ford and its longtime partner, Mazda, have opened a $500 million automobile manufacturing plant in Thailand.

Weird timing, you say? Nah, not really. Ford is already amping up production in the U.S. in the midst of a recession. Although the former GM was doing much better in selling cars in Asia instead of the U.S. in the last 24 months or so, Ford sees the non-U.S. market as more than a breadcrumb as well. This new Thai plant was built specifically to address the Asian market. And no, large SUVs and trucks are not the priority here.

The new plant will produce the Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 compact cars -- cars that don't have the large margins as many of Ford's larger, U.s.-style offerings but those that are -- imagine this -- geared towards what the market wants. In Asia, it's all about small cars that can be packed into limited geographical footprints.

Dave Alden, Ford's president for Southeast Asia and Japan, said that the plant is a "critical component of our overall growth strategy in Asia." Ford will have its work cut out there already, as Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) and Toyota Motor Company (NYSE: TM) already dominate passenger car production in the region.

Tags: auto manufacturing, AutoManufacturing, car plant, CarPlant, Ford Motor, Ford plant, FordMotor, FordPlant, Mazda