Locally assembled Mazda to hit the road late this year

The subcompact car Mazda 2, which is suitable for small streets in populated cities, will become the first model which Japanese automaker Mazda assembles locally.

Vina-Mazda has since March imported the car from Japan for local sale. The vehicle comes with a 1.5-liter engine and four or five-speed automatic or manual transmissions. The imported car now sells for VND629 to VND660 million per unit but the price of the locally assembled version will be lower.

Mazda 2 will be assembled at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam where Vina-Mazda Co. is developing an automobile factory to assemble and manufacture vehicles of 5 to 7 seats and light trucks, according to a Vina-Mazda source.

The facility will able to turn out 20,000 units per year. Authorities of the zone awarded an investment certificate for the company’s automobile plant in March.

The plant, covering 7.5 hectares at the zone and costing VND750 billion, will be built in two phases with the first phase expected to go into operation late this year and having an annual capacity of 5,000 units per year. The capacity will rise to 20,000 units per year down the road. Output of the factory will be for local sale and export to Southeast Asia.

Mazda will transfer assembly technology to Vina-Mazda, the source said.

Vina-Mazda is developing many showrooms throughout the country, including Bien Hoa city of Dong Nai province, Danang, Hanoi and HCMC.

Vina-Mazda has imported completely built-up (CBU) Mazda cars including Mazda 2, Mazda 3, Mazda 6 and Mazda CX9 for the local market.

In the past the Mazda cars were assembled in the country through local automaker VMC but the production was later suspended.

This is the second automobile venture in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone after Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Co., better known as Thaco, which has a huge auto manufacturing and assembly complex.

In 2007 Thaco Kia opened a S$36 million factory to assemble passenger cars. This firm started production and assembly of Hyundai commercial vehicles in May this year.

Thaco last month commissioned a VND600-billion bus plant covering 15 hectares and having four main workshops – welding, assembly, painting and storage.

Authorities of Quang Nam province have proposed the government set up a national auto manufacturing center in the 27,000-hectare Chu Lai zone in Nui Thanh district. The 1,000-hectare center is planned to turn out 300,000 passenger and commercial vehicles a year.