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Mazda 626 Sedan is Two-Millionth Vehicle Produced at AAI

3 June 1999

Mazda 626 Sedan is Two-Millionth Vehicle Produced at AAI; Plant Highlights Milestone with Ceremony

    FLAT ROCK, Mich., June 2 -- Surrounded by executives from
Mazda and Ford, as well as some of the 3,128 UAW workers who helped assemble
it, a Sedona Red 1999 Mazda 626 sedan rolled off the end of the Auto Alliance
International (AAI) assembly line today, marking the two-millionth vehicle
assembled at the Mazda/Ford joint-venture plant since it opened in September
1987.
    Attending the ceremony to celebrate the production of the two millionth
vehicle were AAI board chairman and Mazda Corporation senior managing director
Yoichiro Furuse, AAI president, CEO and COO Bruce Bowman and Ford group vice
president, Asia Pacific Operations and Associations Henry D.G. Wallace.
    Of the two million vehicles produced at AAI, the 626 sedan is the
742,764th Mazda 626 produced.  The plant also produces the 1999 Mercury Cougar
and in the past has produced the 1987-96 Mazda MX-6 and the 1988-97 Ford
Probe.
    The Mazda 626, now in its 20th year on the U.S. market, has consistently
been Mazda's best-selling model.  To date, Mazda has sold 1,413,464  626s in
the United States.
    This summer, AAI will begin producing the restyled and upgraded 2000 Mazda
626, which will feature a fresh new look to the grille, headlights and front
bumper, a more powerful base engine, substantial refinements in ride and
handling and a host of revisions to the interior.
    Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the research and
development, sales and marketing, and customer parts and service support of
Mazda vehicles in the United States.  Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO
has approximately 750 dealerships nationwide and is owned by Mazda Motor
Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan.