Mazda denies considering Eastern European plant

TOKYO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Friday denied a report that it was considering building a factory in Eastern Europe to meet burgeoning demand in the region, especially Russia.

"That's not under consideration," a Mazda spokeswoman in Tokyo said, noting the automaker had just announced plans for a new factory in Thailand with one-third owner Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The report came from an interview with Mazda Senior Managing Executive Officer Daniel Morris published in Automobilwoche, the German sister publication of industry journal Automotive News Europe.

"We are considering production in Eastern Europe but it is a very sensitive subject," Automotive News Europe quoted Morris as telling Automobilwoche.

The paper said strong demand in the region meant output capacity would soon reach its limits again, although it added that Mazda was placing bigger priority on freshening up its product range over investing in new plants.

Last month, Mazda announced plans to build a new 100,000 vehicles-a-year factory in Thailand with Ford in 2009 to supplement its stretched factories. The partners also recently started production at a new factory in Nanjing, China.