Ford Motor Co. and its affiliate, Mazda Motor Corp., will spend more than $500 million to set up a plant in Thailand to expand in Southeast Asia.
Ford and Mazda will produce small cars at the factory from 2009, the companies said in a joint statement Tuesday. The plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 cars and will also be used as a hub for exports. The two carmakers already have a pickup truck venture in Thailand, the region's second-largest economy.
The announcement reverses Ford's position in January when it said it may scrap as much as $1 billion of planned investments in Thai factories after the nation's military-backed government imposed currency curbs.