Flat Rock Assembly Plant

AutoAlliance International
legal form	Incorporated
founding	July 1, 1992
Seat	United States : ; Flat Rock (Michigan)
management	Mamoru Takebayashi (1992–?) ; Philip G. Spender (? –2005) ; Gary A. Row (since 2005) ; John Savona (since 2011)
Number of employees	~ 3,700 employees (July 2008)
Website	www.autoalliance.com/ ( Memento from June 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

Mazda Motor Manufacturing (USA)
legal form	Corporation
founding	1985
resolution	June 30, 1992
Seat	United States : ; Flat Rock (Michigan)
management	Masahiro Uchida
Number of employees	~ 900 to 1,200 employees

The AutoAlliance plant in Flat Rock in October 2010.

The Flat Rock Assembly Plant (formerly AutoAlliance International Inc. ) is a production facility of the Ford Motor Company in Flat Rock ( Wayne County ) in the US state of Michigan .

prehistory

The plant opened in 1972 as the Michigan Casting Center , part of the Ford Group . V8 engine blocks for various Ford models were manufactured here. But because of the steadily falling demand for the V8 engines and the constant raising of investments to modernize the production facilities, the profitability of the location was at risk. The plant was closed in 1981.

The first Mazda plant in the USA

In 1985 Mazda bought the vacant plant and equipped it for the assembly of automobiles. The first model produced by Mazda Motor Manufacturing (USA) Corp. rolled off the assembly line on September 1, 1987, was the Mazda MX-6 . For the markets outside North America, the model was built in badge engineering as a Mazda 626 Coupé . In January 1988, the Ford Probe followed on the same platform . Production of the hatchback as well as the notchback sedan of the 626 could not be started until September 1989 after a technical revision. A short time later, the sample was finally revised.

In spring 1991 a new generation of the 626 Coupé came onto the market. The hatchback as well as the notchback remained unchanged for the time being.

Conversion of the site into a joint venture

On April 15, 1992, the Ford Motor Company acquired a 50 percent stake. The name was changed to AutoAlliance International on July 1st. From then on, the company was considered an official joint venture between the two groups. Since then, the management of the plant has been exclusively provided by the Ford Group, while the previous managers of Mazda Motor Manufacturing have been recalled to Japan and China .

Under the new management, the production of the new sample as well as a new 626 generation had been initiated. In August 1992, production of the new Ford Probe finally started, and in December it was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine . Production of the 626, together with that of the MX-6, did not begin until December 1992. The hatchback, known in the USA as the hatchback, had been taken out of the range. In August 1994 the lifted rehearsal should take care of Fuore. The 626 and the MX-6 followed in December.

In September 1997, production of the MX-6 and Probe models was discontinued in favor of the Ford Cougar , which was developed in Europe . Only the 626 was still built, but a new generation was launched. Series production of the new coupé began in March 1998. The units for the North American market were marketed as Mercury Cougar using badge engineering . Towards the end of the millennium, the demand for the 626 collapsed immensely, so that Ford was forced to reduce some of the workforce. Although the 626 was given a facelift in June 2002, the hoped-for success did not materialize. In October 2002, the Mazda6 finally succeeded it. It was now available again as a notchback sedan as well as a station wagon. In August of the same year, the last Mercury Cougar rolled off the assembly line.

In February 2003 the Ford Motor Company announced that it would produce the Ford Mustang for the 2005 model year in Flat Rock. In August 2004 the first Flat Rock Mustangs rolled off the assembly line. Shortly before, in March, the revised Mazda6 had its premiere. A few days later, a partnership was established with the Downriver Career Technical Consortium , which resulted in the creation of an in-house training center.

The Mustang sister models Shelby GT500 , Shelby GT500KR and Shelby GT / H have been manufactured here since 2007 . After a facelift of the Ford model, the Shelby GT350 , the Shelby GTS and the Shelby 1000, limited to 1,000 copies, were also created .

On August 24, 2012, the last Mazda6 rolled off the assembly line in Flat Rock. The production of the model was relocated to Japan for cost reasons. Meanwhile, the Ford group took full control of the plant. Mazda, meanwhile, is planning a return and has plans to build a new model for the US market. There was therefore no official dissolution of the joint venture. The Mazda6's void was filled with the production of the Ford Fusion , which went into production in summer 2013. All units of the model offered until then come from Hermosillo, Mexico .

Model overview


brand	class	Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA Corp. (MMUC)					AutoAlliance International Inc. (AAI)																					Flat Rock Assembly Plant
		1980s			1990s										2000s										2010s
		7th	8th	9	0	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	0	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	0	1	2	3
	Sports coupé & sports cabriolet		Sample from 1988 to 1990		Sample 1990 to 1992		Sample 1992 to 1994		Sample 1994 to 1997				Cougar ² 1998 to 2002						Mustang 2004 to 2009					Mustang since 2009
	Sports coupé & sports cabriolet																		Mustang 2004 to 2009					Mustang since 2009
	Middle class - notchback "Sedan"																											Merger from 2013
	Sports coupe	626 Coupé ² / MX-6 ¹ 1987 to 1989		626 Coupé ² / MX-6 ¹ 1989 to 1991			MX-6 ¹ / MX-6 Mystère ³ 1992 to 1995			MX-6 ¹ / MX-6 Mystère ³ 1995 to 1997
	Middle class - hatchback "Hatchback"			626 1989 to 1992													6 Sport 2002 to 2004		6 Sports 2004 to 2008
	Middle class - notchback "Sedan"			626 1989 to 1992			626 1992 to 1995			626 1995 to 1997		626 1997 to 1999			626 2000 to 2002		6 Sport Sedan 2002 to 2004		6 Sport Sedan 2004 to 2008				6 Ultra Sedan 2008 to 2012				6 Ultra Sedan 2012 only
	Middle class - Combination "Estate" / "Station Wagon"																6 Sport Wagon 2002 to 2004		6 Sport Wagon 2004 to 2008
	Sports coupe												Cougar ¹ 1998 to 2000			Cougar ¹ 2001 to 2002
	Sports coupé & sports cabriolet																					GT500 / GT500KR / GT / H 2007 to 2009		1000 / GT350 / GT500 / GTS since 2009
	Sports coupé & sports cabriolet																					GT500 / GT / H 2007 to 2009		GT350 / GT500 / GTS since 2009