In April 2024, Mazda veteran Mitsunobu Mukaida took the helm of Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA Inc., in Huntsville, as the organization’s new president. Mukaida has worked for Mazda for 35 years, and most recently served as executive officer in charge of global production. He also has served as CEO and president of Mazda Powertrain Manufacturing in Thailand and as general manager of the Hiroshima plant.
Mukaida replaced Masashi Aihara, who was the founding president of the Alabama manufacturing plant. Construction began on the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) facility in Huntsville in 2018, and the plant opened in 2021. At the plant shared by Toyota and Mazda, the Mazda CX-50 and the Toyota Corolla Cross are manufactured. As Aihara stepped aside to move on to his next assignment with Mazda Motor Corp., Mukaida transitioned into the role of top executive.
“My mission at MTM as a joint venture plant is to further realize the synergy between Toyota and Mazda through their respective strengths and to develop it as a ‘best in town’ facility that is loved by our team members and the local community,” Mukaida told Business Alabama when the leadership transition was announced. “I will continue to work with determination to put down roots in Huntsville.”
Deep Mazda Roots
Mukaida brings to his new role 35 years of experience working in production at Mazda. That experience has provided him with international leadership experience, taking him to three automotive facilities in three countries.
In 1989, Mukaida started working at Mazda as a technician, before eventually moving to a leadership role in the Engine and Mission Powertrain area.
For two years, he served at Mazda Powertrain Manufacturing in Thailand, first as executive vice president and then in 2016, as president and CEO. Following that role, Mukaida was general manager at Mazda Motor Corp.’s Hiroshima facility in Japan, and then he became executive officer in charge of global production.
His goals in his new role leading the Alabama operations? Mukaida says he hopes to share his experience in plant management and be a benefit to Mazda Toyota Manufacturing.
Building for the Future
Leading the Alabama plant is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Mukaida says. He aims to build on the strong foundation started by Aihara and continue to meet the collaborative goals of the joint venture.
“I would like to reach our shared goal of establishing a plant that produces quality vehicles for Toyota and Mazda,” Mukaida says. “MTM is neither Mazda nor Toyota, but its own company, and we want to be the #1 employer in our community. And I want all MTM members to share in this achievement and enjoy it together.”
In addition, Mukaida hopes to continue to learn and grow personally from “this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work at MTM’s joint venture, and to do my part to make MTM the employer of choice in our community,” he says.
The state of Alabama has been a solid choice for Mazda Toyota’s joint venture, and Mukaida is pleased to continue the tradition started by Aihara and other leaders of Mazda and Toyota.
“It is exciting that Mazda was able to build their only current U.S. facility in this groundbreaking partnership with Toyota Motor Corp.,” he says. “This community has been so supportive and invested in our joint venture, and we couldn’t imagine any other hometown besides Huntsville and North Alabama. We appreciate all of the stakeholders who made this facility possible, and for all the support our amazing Alabama team members provide in building safe, quality vehicles every day.
“We have continued to make improvements and increase our team’s ability to assemble vehicles for both Mazda and Toyota,” says Mukaida. “However, our greatest success is always in our team members, whether it is their ability to build quality vehicles, or their ability to grow at MTM and provide a better life for their families.”
Nancy Mann Jackson is a Madison-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the February 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
