Mazda Motor and Toyota Motor have entered an agreement to ally together on a new production facility in the United States. The continuance of the two automakers’ partnership creates a joint venture for vehicle production in the U.S., including electric vehicle technologies and connected car tech. They will also collaborate on advanced safety technologies and complementary products.
The two will ally financially as well, with Toyota purchasing shares in Mazda and Mazda will do the same with Toyota. This alliance continues the partnership the two companies began in 2015 to leverage resources to mutual benefit.
The new agreement will see the likely establishment of a vehicle production facility in the U.S. capable of producing about 300,000 vehicles annually. The goal is to have the plant operational by 2021 with an investment of approximately $1.6 billion. This plant will be part of the collaborative efforts from the two companies towards more efficient production. Mazda will likely use the plant for crossover-SUV products sold in North America and Toyota will use the plant for production of the Corolla, which is currently slated to expand into the company’s Mexico-based production facility current under construction. Production of the Tacoma would move to that Mexican plant when facilities in the U.S. allow for movement of the higher-volume Corolla back to the U.S. This gives Mazda a better foothold in North America and expands production capacity for Toyota, which is currently strained.
As part of the agreement, the two companies will also collaborate on electric vehicle technologies. Further, advanced vehicle safety technologies and connected vehicle technologies will also be explored in the new partnership. Complementary products, such as the Toyota Corolla iA (formerly the Scion iA) and Toyota’s compact van Mazda sells in Japan, will also be further explored in this expanded partnership.
