Like a true nature’s child, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing debuted their first all-new Mazda CX-50 yesterday, driving it into the start of production to the proud cheers of MTM team members and a backdrop of their rollicking theme song, Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.”
The new plant celebrated the start of production on the Apollo line in September, producing the Toyota Corolla Cross. Yesterday, the plant hit a new milestone, celebrating the start of the Discovery line that will produce the Mazda CX-50.
A joint venture between the Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, the $2.311 billion MTM plant is the only facility of its kind in the world. It can produce up to 300,000 of the new SUVs per year once it reaches full production.
Produced in the United States for the North American driver to support the active and outdoor lifestyles of customers in this region, the vehicle will be assembled in North Alabama by MTM team members according to Mark Brazeal, vice president of Administration.
“As you know, this shop was built to be a very fast-producing shop, and this is a significant accomplishment for all Team ONE members,” Brazeal said, recapping the three-year journey from groundbreaking in November 2018 to today’s milestone. “We are starting production on not just one, but two vehicle lines delivered on time to very satisfied customers. It is really an unprecedented achievement.
“Neither company, Toyota nor Mazda have previously launched a brand-new vehicle assembly event with two production lines. We are the first.”
Mazda North American Operations president and CEO Jeff Guyton said, “We are thrilled both to present this beautiful CX-50 to the world, and to celebrate this moment with our partners, both from the North Alabama community and from Team ONE.”
MTM will continue to hire an additional 1,200 team members before it is in full production totally up to 4,000 team members.
“Our team members have knocked this out of the park,” said Janette Hostettler, vice president of Production. “They are working at the only automotive plant in the world that builds two brand new vehicles on two separate lines.
“To say I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished would be an understatement.”
The Mazda CX-50 will be available in dealerships this spring.
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