TOKYO - Mazda Motor Corp plans to construct a small-car plant in Thailand jointly with Ford Motor Co and build its own factory in North America, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources.

Under a new growth plan, Mazda and its top shareholder Ford will spend more than 50 billion yen to build the Thai plant, which will begin operations in 2009, the business daily said. This factory will roll out some 200,000+ vehicles per year, including the 1.3-liter Demio.

The two are also considering manufacturing transmissions there as well, which, if combined, could send overall investment there to 100 billion yen, the Nihon Keizai said.

Mazda is also studying building a new plant in North America on its own. The Japanese automaker will select a site, possibly in Mexico, with an aim of bringing the factory on-stream in the first half of the 2010s, according to the report.