Mazda Begins Producing CX-3 in Mexico

Mazda transferred the production of its CX-3 vehicle from Japan to its assembly plant in Mexico, which represented a US$60 million investment in the Latin American country. The company aims to produce 15,000 CX-3 units per year in Mexico, most of them for the Mexican market. 

Mazda arrived in Mexico in 2005. In 2011, the Japanese automaker decided to build an assembly plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato, which became its first outside of Japan. Since then, the assembly plant has consolidated its quality throughout the region but will have to tackle the challenges that the automotive industry faces, said Takuji Iwashita, President and CEO, Mazda Mexico Vehicle Operation, according to Mexico Industry. 

"We have established our plan for future business development, working hand in hand with manufacturing and sales departments to carry out various co-creation activities and covering other areas of the plant under the concept of One Mazda in Mexico. As a strategic pillar, we will focus on the domestic market, listening and reflecting the voices of our customers in Mexico to propose more trends," said Iwashita. 

To produce the Mazda CX-3, the automaker took one year of planning and hired 100 more employees, strengthening its relationship with Mexico, said Miguel Barbeyto, President, Mazda. "Mazda CX-3 was produced in Japan and the transfer to Mexico represents Mazda's confidence in the Mexican workforce and the consolidation of our country as one of the most important regions for the company,” said Barbeyto.

The Salamanca assembly plant produces the Mazda 2, Mazda 3, Mazda CX-30 and Mazda CX-3, which are exported to many regions across the world, including the US, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Japan, Spain, Greece and Switzerland. The plant is one of the most important assets for the company, in 2020 it reached cumulative production of 1 million units assembled in its first six years. 

Mazda is also deploying an electrification model, vowing that by the end of this decade all its models will have an electrified counterpart. Its Zoom-Zoom 2030 plan also aims to reduce carbon emissions to 50 percent by that year. 

Miguel Barbeyto expects for EV sales to increase over 50 percent by 2028 worldwide. “Electrification improves productivity, offers more efficient vehicles and lowers CO2. The entire industry is heading in that same direction,” said Barbeyto during Mexico Automotive Summit 2022 ECHO.