RAYONG, Thailand — AutoAlliance Thailand, a Ford/Mazda joint venture, unveiled the Mazda 2 to the local media on Thursday as the company prepares to start production of the subcompact at its Rayong assembly plant here.
The car is based on the model currently in production in Japan. It will go on sale in Thailand in November and will be rolled out in other markets in the region soon after, starting with Indonesia later in the same month, the Philippines in December and Malaysia next March.
The Rayong plant will be the main production base for the car for markets in the ASEAN region, and also for Australia thanks to that country's bilateral free-trade agreement with Thailand. AAT's Rayong plant, which also makes the B150 and Ford Ranger, has a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year on one shift.
Mazda hopes to double annual sales in Southeast Asia to around 40,000 units next year, with the Mazda 2 accounting for half of total volume. It hopes to increase its regional market share from the current 1 percent up to 3-5 percent with the new model.
Ford Motor has similar high hopes for the model when it rolls out the Fiesta-badged variants across the region at the end of 2009 and early 2010.
Yuji Nakamine, Mazda's managing executive director, said demand in the ASEAN region for subcompacts continues to rise, with volumes expected to reach 340,000 units next year in an overall vehicle market of around 2 million units.
The Mazda 2's main competitors in the region will be the Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz and Suzuki Swift.
Inside Line says: Ford and Mazda plan for subcompact growth in the ASEAN region. — Tony Pugliese, Correspondent
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