A production facility in France has been renamed Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Europe (YMME), becoming Yamaha’s European production base.
The plant was previously called MBK Industrie S.A.S., referred to as ‘MBK’, and was already used as a production facility by Yamaha Motor Europe, which has wholly owned the facility since 1986, for motorcycles such as the Tenere 700, MT-125, and XMAX. The renaming of the factory “has been part of Yamaha Motor’s long-term vision and reinforces its commitment to a local European manufacturing as a competitive and sustainable advantage,” the manufacturer says.
The plant will diversify its range of products, with electric vehicles becoming more prominent, according to Yamaha.
MBK’s renaming to YMME is one of the first actions of Yamaha Motor Europe to be undertaken under its new president and CEO, Olivier Prevost, who replaced Eric de Seynes on 1 January.
Prevost said: “It is with a lot of emotion that I see the evolution of MBK Industrie into Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Europe. I started my career at MBK 30 years ago and all these years, I have been paying special attention to MBK.
“The operations and product line-up have been continuously evolving to reach today a high level of excellence allowing production of Yamaha flagship models in this factory. This has been possible with the involvement and efforts of all the employees during the last 40 years. I would like to express my appreciation and to thank all of them.
“Looking forward, it became clear that it is now time to change the name to Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Europe. More than a symbolic move, it is a clear recognition for the company within the Yamaha Motor Group and it will support to embrace a wider range of Yamaha products.”
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