Mazda Kicks Off Production at New Plant in Mexico with Mazda3 Sedan

Mazda's brand new vehicle and engine assembly facility in Salamanca, Mexico, has started mass production earlier than originally anticipated (March, 2014), as the first car, a Mazda3 sedan destined for the US market, rolled off the factory line on Tuesday.

“We have sent over 150 engineers and supervisors to Mazda’s plants in Hiroshima and Hofu, and made every effort to ensure that we are manufacturing products of the highest quality here at MMVO," commented Mazda Managing Executive Officer Keishi Egawa. "With the start of mass production, we now have a system capable of offering vehicles of the same high quality as those made in Japan, on a global scale, and that is extremely gratifying."

Besides the USA, the Japanese carmaker's Mexican plant will produce the Mazda3 for other countries in the Americas and for Europe.

In the near future, Mazda intends to expand the production model line-up to include the Mazda2 sub-compact as well as approximately 50,000 Toyota-branded vehicles built under contract, beginning in the summer of 2015.

Mazda said it aims to reach an annual capacity of 230,000 units by March of 2016.

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New Mazda2 Range Extender Prototype Leaves Hope for Rotary Engine

Granted; a very Chevrolet Volt-like in philosophy Mazda Demio (Mazda2 for the rest of the world) prototype fitted with a range extender powertrain comprising an electric motor turning the wheels and a gasoline-fueled 0.33-liter rotary engine in the rear generating electricity for the supermini's lithium ion battery, isn't exactly promising for the future of rotary-powered Mazda sports cars.

But it's better than nothing, especially after new Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai admitted that there are no current plans to revive a rotary engine for mass production, or in other words, a successor to the RX-7 and RX-8 models. As long as Mazda engineers keep on working on the technology, there's hope…

Back to the Demio Range Extender study, Mazda showed the sub-compact to the press on Thursday in Japan. According to an Autonews report, Mazda said that while meeting stringent emissions regulations is a problem that needs to be solved, the rotary unit has many advantages, including its small size, running quietly with little vibration, and the ability to burn different fuels.

Like the pure-electric Demio EV, the range-extender hybrid uses a 75kW electric motor to turn the front wheels. The rotary engine is believed to almost double the 200km (124 mile) driving range of the electric model with a 10-liter (2.6 gallon) fuel tank.

Kogai told Autonews that while there are no specific production plans, the company is holding on the rotary technology "partially for sentimental reasons".

“We are the first and only manufacturer to commercialize the rotary engine,” he said. “In that respect, we have some responsibility.”

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