Mazda Expected to Stop US Production, Dissolve Ford JV by 2013

We’ve told you before that the Japanese automaker is considering a production halt at the Flat Rock plant it shares with Ford, however a complete overhaul of the plant and changing the models made there were both still options. Now it seems there’s no hope for Mazda’s facilities in the US, as a number of reports from both the US and Japan indicate the joint venture will be ended soon.

By 2013, the joint venture will be dissolved and Mazda is reportedly already in talks with Ford to sell its share of the production facilities in their Auto Alliance International (AAI) automotive endeavor. Flat Rock is working a single production shift per day, making the Mazda6 and the new Ford Mustang. Annual production is currently rated at around 36,000 Mazda6 units per year, while Ford made more than double that number of Mustangs in 2010.

But Flat Rock needs to make at least 168,000 cars a year to make a profit. Ford once owned a 30 percent stake in Mazda, but the ties between the two companies has grown increasingly loose.

"Dissolving the joint venture is one measure that the two companies are discussing," a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

Moving production to Mexico was once an option, but it looks like Mazda has its mind set on importing the ‘6’ from Japan to the States from now on, according to the NIkkei business daily.

As a response to the reports, Mazda has issued the following statement: "Mazda and Ford are jointly studying various possibilities for AAI, and we have nothing to announce at this time. We do not comment on speculation."