Mazda Motor Corporation will construct a transmission plant with an annual production capacity of approximately 400,000 units in Chon Buri with an investment of 26 billion yen (8.47 billion baht).
Mazda decided to establish the plant to respond to increasing demand for models featuring its ''SkyActiv technology'' and to strengthen its global production footprint, said a company statement. Operations at the new plant will commence in the first half of the fiscal year ending in March 2016.
The new plant will be located five kilometres north of Mazda's joint venture production facility, AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co (AAT), and will supply SkyActiv drive automatic transmissions.
The Hofu plant in Japan's Nakanoseki district will remain the chief production facility for transmissions, but Mazda decided to establish a second major plant in Chon Buri. This will enable Mazda to cope with rapidly increasing demand for this transmission model.
''We will make use of the knowledge and experience gained through AAT to ensure the success of the new plant,'' said Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda's president and CEO.
Mazda will establish a new affiliate company named Mazda Powertrain Manufacturing (Thailand) Co to produce and sell transmissions for Mazda vehicles. The new affiliate is projected to employ about 500 workers.