Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor is planning to invest about $120m to build a engine machining factory at its new vehicle production facility in Mexico.
Expected to be commissioned in October 2014, the new factory will produce SKYACTIV engines for vehicles manufactured at Mazda Motor Manufacturing de Mexico (MMMdM), which is a joint venture between Mazda and Sumitomo, including the Mazda3 and Mazda2 models.
The new facility will have a capacity of about 230,000 engines per year.
MMMdM president and CEO Keishi Egawa said that the investment will allow strengthening the new facility's foundation as a vehicle supply base and enhance engine production framework in Mexico.
"MMMdM facility will play a key role, supplying vehicles to North, Central and South America," Egawa said.
Mazda has completed the construction of new buildings that will house the vehicle and engine assembly lines at MMMdM is complete and is expected to commence operations during March 2014.
According to the Japanese automaker, the new engine machining factory would reinforce its production system for SKYACTIV technologies and the localization of production and boosting the number of parts procured locally, would help in dealing with exchange rate fluctuations.
Mazda is aiming to increase its global sales to 1.7 million units by March 2016 and is expecting 80% of those models to be powered by SKYACTIV Technology.
In addition to MMMdM, SKYACTIV engines have also been manufactured at the Hiroshima Plant in Japan and Changan Ford Mazda Engine in China.
