The strength of the yen against the dollar has made the importation of Japanese-made cars a money-losing prospect. Toyota has taken two innovative ways to deflect foreign-exchange losses on its small cars.
One plan will see Mazda building cars for Toyota in Mexico. The two carmakers recently revealed plans for Mazda to supply Toyota with a badge-engineered subcompact car starting in 2015.
Mazda is set to begin producing 140,000 cars a year at its new Salamanca, Mexico, plant in 2014. It will manufacture the Mazda2 and Mazda3 for North American markets. The two models are currently built in Japan.
The current Mazda2 was jointly developed with Ford and shares the same platform as the Fiesta, which debuted in 2007.
The new agreement will see Mazda supplying Toyota with a rebadged version of its next-generation Mazda2. As part of the agreement, Toyota will share the cost of increasing the plant's capacity. The as-yet-unamed car is not a substitute for an existing nameplate. That means Toyota may market the car either as a Toyota or Scion.
Toyota also revealed plans to shift North America-bound output of the Yaris from Japan to France. It will be the first European-made Toyota to hit our shores.
Mazda is also looking to Europe as it prepares to develop the next-generation Mazda MX-5. Earlier this year, the Hiroshima-based manufacturer announced it will team up with Fiat to build a future version of their popular two-seat, rear-wheel roadster.
The next MX-5 convertible is slated to appear in North America in 2014, with a version badged as an Alfa Romeo set to appear a year later. At this time, both cars are scheduled to be built in Japan.
Both manufacturers insist that while the sister cars will share engineering know-how, the resulting models will be powered by different powerplants and be differentiated by distinct, brand-specific styling.
