The new Mazda CX-5 is scheduled to be launched in South Africa in the second quarter of this year, and the Japanese automaker has announced that it will soon increase production of the crossover in a bid to meet “growing demand” globally.
From November 2017, the brand says it will produce the new, second-generation CX-5 at Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi prefecture as well as at Hiroshima Plant, where it is currently built, helping it “respond quickly and flexibly to growing demand for SUVs globally”.
It’s a move that echoes Mazda’s strategy with the smaller CX-3, which it in December 2016 also started producing at the Hofu factory (again, in addition to units being built in Hiroshima).
“As with the CX-3, starting production of the CX-5 at Hofu Plant as well is part of our plan to build a production framework that gives us more flexibility between plants and between models,” said Masatoshi Maruyama, managing executive officer in charge of global production.
“We will do everything we can to get customers the crossover vehicles they want as quickly as possible.”