Asian manufacturing in North America
Some Asian automakers tested the waters on U.S. manufacturing through partnerships. These were among the first wave. | ||||
Factory | Where | Partners | Opened | Today |
Diamond-Star Motors | Normal, Ill. | Mitsubishi-Chrysler | 1988 | Chrysler pulled out in 1991; Mitsubishi now wants to sell it. |
NUMMI | Fremont, Calif. | Toyota-GM | 1984 | GM pulled out in 2009; Toyota closed the plant in 2010 and sold it to Tesla for $42 million. |
Mazda Motor Mfg. (USA) | Flat Rock, Mich. | Ford-Mazda | 1987 | Opened as a wholly owned Mazda plant, building both Mazda and Ford cars. Ford bought half in 1992, renaming it AutoAlliance International., then took full control in 2012 when Mazda ended production there. |
Subaru-Isuzu Automotive | W. Lafayette, Ind. | Subaru-Isuzu | 1989 | Subaru bought Isuzu's stake for $1 in 2002. As Subaru of Indiana Automotive, it began building Toyotas in 2007, but the plant will revert to Subaru-only output in 2016. |
CAMI Automotive | Ingersoll, Ontario | Suzuki-GM | 1989 | Designed to help GM learn how to build small cars profitably with union labor; Suzuki sold its 50 percent stake to GM in 2009. |
Bromont Assembly | Bromont, Quebec | Hyundai-Chrysler | 1989 | Wholly owned Hyundai plant opened with a commitment from Chrysler to buy a rebadged version of the Sonata, then Chrysler changed its mind. Production ended in 1993. |
Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s decision last week to sell its only U.S. assembly plant illustrates an emerging new-world order in car production.