New Mazda Thai Plant Global Skyactiv Gearbox Source

Mazda begins mass production of transmissions at its new 400,000-unit-a-year plant in Thailand.

In combination with its Hofu plant in Japan, the ¥26 billion ($219 million) Thai facility will raise the automaker’s global annual production capacity to about 1.54 million units.

Mazda Powertrain Mfg., located in Thailand’s Chonburi prefecture 3.7 miles (5 km) north of Mazda’s joint venture production facility, Auto Alliance Thailand, is building the new-generation Skyactiv-drive automatic transmissions.

The Thai-built ATs will be supplied to global production facilities including Auto Alliance (Thailand) to be used in the all-new Mazda2 (Mazda Demio in Japan), all-new Mazda3 (Mazda Axela) and Mazda CX-5.

“Start of mass production here means that Mazda has succeeded in establishing a global production structure capable of supplying Skyactiv-drive automatic transmissions of the same high quality of those we make in Japan,” MPMT President and CEO Hidenori Kawakami says in a statement.

Establishing a global production footprint is one of the key measures of Mazda’s structural reform plan announced in February 2012, and the start of transmission production at MPMT marks another important milestone.

Mazda says it is on schedule with its plan to introduce vehicles equipped with Skyactiv technology and expects Skyactiv models to account for more than 85% of sales by the fiscal year ending March 2016.

Mazda announced plans last year to construct a plant at Chonburi producing Skyactiv-D diesel engines for the Mazda2 for the Thai market. Production begins in the fourth quarter of this year.

The engine plant is being built on an adjacent site to the new transmission factory. Initial production capacity will be 30,000 units a year. To meet the requirements of the second phase of the Thai government’s Eco-Car program, the automaker plans to increase capacity and construct an engine-machining facility.

The engine plant will become the fourth production facility producing Skyactiv engines, along with the Hiroshima plant in Japan, Changan Ford Mazda Engine in China and Mazda de Mexico Vehicle Operation in Mexico.