The crossover will go on sale in its home market in February 2017
Fresh from its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the all-new 2017 Mazda CX-5 entered production in Japan at the Ujina Plant No. 2.
Located near the company's global headquarters in Hiroshima, the new plant will manufacture the crossover for markets worldwide. The first units that rolled off the assembly line feature the Soul Red Crystal body color and are destined for the Japanese market, where the second-generation CX-5 will go on sale in February before arriving in other countries around the world.
The CX-5 is an essential model for Mazda, as it plays in the highly-competitive compact crossover segment. The original CX-5 became Mazda's second-fastest model to reach 1 million units in April 2015, after the Mazda3.
Total production between November 2011 and the end of October 2016 reached approximately 1.57 million units, which means the new CX-5 has some big shoes to fill. The CX-5's popularity has turned it into a core model for the brand, accounting for about a quarter of Mazda's annual sales volume.
The 2017 CX-5 bets on evolutionary styling, new engines, and new technologies to convince buyers. The crossover will mark the debut of Mazda's first diesel engine in the United States, a 2.2-liter turbocharged unit whose specs haven't been released yet. Gasoline engines will include 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter engines.
Mazda says the slogan for the development of the all-new CX-5 was "an SUV all customers will enjoy," with highlights including a bigger interior, G-Vectoring Control technology, and the i-ACTIV AWD system, among other things.