Mazda Ends 20 Years Of Production With Ford JV Flat Rock Michigan Plant

SEE ALSO: Where Cars Are Really Made

Washington DC August 24, 2012, The AIADA newsletter reported that according to The Detroit News, the last Mazda is expected to roll off the assembly line in Flat Rock, Mich., today as the Japanese automaker hands the keys to the plant back to its one-time owner, Ford Motor Co.

Known as AutoAlliance International, the plant has been run as a joint venture between Ford and Mazda since 1992, producing the Mazda6 sedan and the Ford Mustang muscle car.

Workers will mark the end of Mazda production with a small ceremony inside the plant today. "The strategic cooperative relationship between Ford and Mazda has spanned nearly 30 years, and is one of the most successful partnerships in the automobile industry," said Ford spokesman Todd Nissen.

"The alliance has been and continues to be an effective way to utilize the resources of both organizations and maximize joint synergies."

The Flat Rock factory began life as a Ford casting plant in 1972, but the automaker closed the plant in 1981. Mazda purchased the factory in 1987 and transformed it into an automobile assembly plant. It produced the Mazda MX-6 and the Probe.

Ford plans to retool the Mazda line at Flat Rock to produce the new Ford Fusion sedan. That current version of Ford's flagship family car is produced in Mexico, but Mulally agreed to transfer production to the United States in exchange for concessions from the United Auto Workers in 2007 and 2009.

Mazda will shift production of the Mazda6 back to Japan. The automaker is opening a new factory in Salamanca, Mexico, to build the Mazda2 and Mazda3 subcompact and compact cars.

See Full Detroit News coverage of Mazda’s departure from its Flat Rock, Mich., facility.