Flat Rock Assembly Plant
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
Mazda Motor Manufacturing (USA)
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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 |
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
AutoAlliance International
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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 ) |
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 |
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Mustang 2004 to 2009 |
Mustang since 2009 |
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Middle class - notchback "Sedan" |
Merger from 2013 |
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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 |
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Middle class - hatchback "Hatchback" |
626 1989 to 1992 |
6 Sport 2002 to 2004 |
6 Sports 2004 to 2008 |
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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 |
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Middle class - Combination "Estate" / "Station Wagon" |
6 Sport Wagon 2002 to 2004 |
6 Sport Wagon 2004 to 2008 |
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Sports coupe |
Cougar 1 1998 to 2000 |
Cougar 1 2001 to 2002 |
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Sports coupé & sports cabriolet |
GT500 / GT500KR / GT / H 2007 to 2009 |
1000 / GT350 / GT500 / GTS since 2009 |
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GT500 / GT / H 2007 to 2009 |
GT350 / GT500 / GTS since 2009 |
1: Model name for the North American markets ( CDN , MEX and USA )
2: Export name for the markets outside North America
3. Model name in Canada
Web links
- www.autoalliance.com/ ( Memento from June 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )