USA - The Acura MDX starts builing at a second US Plant to meet growing demand.

• East Liberty Plant in Ohio Joins Alabama Plant in Producing MDX
• Five of Acura's Six Products Now Built in Ohio

Production of the Acura MDX luxury SUV was bolstered today when the East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) in Ohio began producing the award-winning Acura vehicle, the second U.S. plant to build America's best-selling 3-row luxury SUV of all time. ELP joins Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln, Ala. in producing the MDX

With the addition of MDX production at ELP, five of Acura's six products are now built in Ohio.  The MDX joins its stable mate, the award-winning RDX sport-utility vehicle, at ELP, while associates at the Marysville Auto Plant build the TLX and ILX luxury sedans.  The Acura NSX is also produced exclusively at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville – the only supercar built in America.

ELP invested $85 million for the addition of new welding equipment, the extension of vehicle conveyors and other changes required to support production of the MDX, and will assume sole production of the MDX this fall. This will enable the Alabama plant to increase production of the Honda Pilot, helping both the Acura and Honda brands meet increased customer demand for their respective light truck models.

"From our startup three decades ago producing small sedans to the three different light trucks we build today, our associates continue to demonstrate the skills needed for high quality and flexible manufacturing," said Tim Myers, East Liberty Auto Plant Manager. "I'm proud of the commitment of our team to take on new challenges to meet the needs of our customers."

The refreshed and restyled 2017 Acura MDX introduced last year, raised its game with bold new exterior styling, larger wheel and tire options and an expanded complement of premium features and technologies, including the AcuraWatch™ suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, now offered as standard equipment on all 2017 MDX models, a first in the luxury SUV segment.

ELP also produces the best-selling SUV in America, the Honda CR-V, and served as the global lead plant in several key areas for the recent launch of the all-new 2017 CR-V.The plant employs 2,350 associates and has the annual capacity to manufacture 240,000 passenger cars and light trucks. The 2.8 million square foot plant started production in December 1989.

Mazda expands production of the CX-3 to a third plant, to meet global demand of the model.

• Move enhances automaker’s ability to meet growing demand for SUVs globally

Mazda Motor Corporation announced yesterday that the company began production of the Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover SUV yesterday at Hofu Plant No.1 in Yamaguchi, Japan. The move strengthens the automaker’s supply system for SUV vehicles, demand for which continues to grow globally.

Hofu Plant becomes the third production facility to manufacture the CX-3, following Ujina Plant No.1 (in Hiroshima), where production began in December 2014, and AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., where production began in October last year.

Domestic production of the CX-3 has until now been confined to Ujina Plant No.1, which also produces the Mazda CX-5 and Mazda CX-9. 

Moving a portion of CX-3 production to Hofu enhances the company’s ability to supply these models and respond quickly and flexibly to growing demand for SUVs globally. 

Bringing CX-3 production online at Hofu went smoothly thanks to Mazda’s Bundled Product Planning¹ and Common Architecture Concept,² key components of the company’s Monotsukuri Innovation initiatives in product planning and production.

Mazda is aiming to create a flexible production system capable of producing up to 50 percent crossover vehicles as the company works to meet its global sales goal of 1.65 million units, as laid out in its Structural Reform Stage 2 medium-term business plan (covering the period from fiscal year ending (FYE) March 2017 through FYE March 2019).

“We’re aiming for a production system that gives us more flexibility in terms of plants and models, so we can get our cars to customers around the world as quickly as possible,” said Masatoshi Maruyama, Managing Executive Officer in charge of global production. “Achieving this will help create a stronger foundation for our business.”

Mazda will continue its efforts to enrich people’s lives through a variety of touchpoints, including high-quality vehicle production, and become a brand with which customers feel a strong emotional connection.

1    A planning method that looks at trends five to ten years ahead, identifies what products and technologies will be needed, and creates a comprehensive plan for all products to be sold during the period. Bundled Product Planning identifies what elements can be common to all vehicles and what elements need to be unique to each carline. The aim is to maximize the individual appeal of each model at the same time as creating common vehicle structures and manufacturing processes that enable the efficient manufacture of various future products.

2    Under the Common Architecture concept, the core characteristics of each component are common across all car lines regardless of segment or engine displacement. Parts for different models differ in size, but share the same design characteristics, making it possible to develop and produce a variety of products using the same processes.