Satoshi and Maki Shiraki

TOKYO, Reuters – Ten years after Mazda Motor (OTC) cars vanished from Ford Motor’s Michigan factory floor in Michigan, the Japanese carmaker has begun building again in the United States – but this time it is partnering with a compatriot Toyota Motor (NYSE :).

In January, the Mazda CX-50 Crossovers came off the assembly lines at the Alabama joint plant. The cars were loaded with efficiency that was honed by both automakers.

Mazda hopes that restarting local production using Toyota’s local knowledge and reliability will be a game changer for its sales efforts in Japan’s second largest market.

Masashi Aihara of Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. (MTM) stated that “It’s a tremendous advantage for us being able to learn form Toyota’s vast experiences in the United States,” in an interview with Reuters last week.

While the 50-50 joint venture may look like a David-and Goliath partnership it provides an insight into Toyota’s plans to draw new skills from smaller partners.

The industry is experiencing increased competition, not only from potential new players like Apple (NASDAQ:). Sony (NYSE:) Corporation – In recent years, Toyota took minority shares in Mazda Motor as well as Suzuki Motor’s small-car manufacturer and Subaru (OTC:) Corp.

Aihara (38-year Mazda veteran) said that his choice to run the $300,000-per-year, $2.3-billion factory was evidence of mutual learning.

“Under President Akio Toyoda Toyota is always looking to change how it does business, and I feel (by putting myself in this position), he was saying: ‘If there are lessons to be learned by Mazda, learn them.

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Mazda’s Huntsville factory opened in 2013 and will soon add electric cars to its lineup.

MTM can tow components from suppliers at site on connected-up tractor tractors. This saves time loading and unloading trucks.

It was possible to standardize the machinery and streamline the way the cars were assembled so that Mazda and Toyota could ultimately be produced on the exact same lines.

Aihara stated that there were occasions when both of us realized we had been doing things in a particular way out of habit. In some instances, Aihara said that they came up with a mixed method that combined techniques from each side. Mazda wouldn’t allow us to achieve that.

There have been many bumps in the road.

The plant still has 900 employees short of its target 4,000 workers. This means it can only run one shift rather than two due to a tight labor market. Mazda wants to see an increase in U.S. car sales of between a third and 450,000 by the end of this decade.

COVID-19, which forced the second team from Japan to shorten their trip to Japan to stop a previous plan of six training teams for Mazda and Toyota factory in Japan. Aihara explained that Toyota made a strong U.S. impression, and Kentucky and other nearby plants were able to provide training for all the remaining teams.

“Ultimately, the No. He stated that the factory’s No. 1 goal is to grow U.S. businesses.