Yamaha Motor Co. Lists California Campus in Move to Georgia

Yamaha Motor Corporation USA is moving its corporate headquarters from Southern California to Georgia, and it’s offloading real estate ahead of the move.

The company announced it will relocate from Cypress, California, to Kennesaw, Georgia, capping off a nearly half-century in Orange County, the California Post reported.

Yamaha tapped Avison Young to market its 25-acre campus at 6555 Katella Avenue for sale, according to a news release from the brokerage. Yamaha’s exit from its Katella 25 campus is expected to begin late this year with full relocation complete by 2028, according to Avison Young.

Yamaha established its U.S. headquarters at the complex in 1979. The company plans to lease back the entire property through Dec. 31, 2028, allowing a buyer to access stable cash flow during the transitional period and pursue future redevelopment entitlements.

Yamaha’s Katella 25 campus consists of nearly 279,000 square feet of office, industrial and flex-warehouse space taking up an entire city block, per Avison Young. The industrial-zoned site represents “one of the largest industrial redevelopment opportunities currently available in Southern California,” Avison Young said.

The relocation is expected to affect roughly 250 employees as the American branch of the Japanese company looks to streamline operations. Yamaha already has a manufacturing plant in Georgia, and the move will consolidate operations.

The 1.3-million-square-foot Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America factory opened in Newnan, Georgia, in 1986 and employs roughly 2,000 workers.

Yamaha relocated its Marine Engine Systems division to Kennesaw, a suburb northeast of Atlanta, in 1999 and expanded that facility in 2023 with a 75,000-square-foot Marine Innovation Center in 2023. In 2019, the company moved its motorsports operations to the Peach State to take advantage of proximity to its other Georgia facilities. Yamaha hasn’t revealed any expansion plans with the move.

— Chris Malone Méndez