Mazda CX-7 to be locally made in China

Shanghai September 15 (Gasgoo.com) The CX-7, a great family SUV from Mazda, which is currently being sold as an imported model in China through FAW-Mazda's sales network, will be made locally, the joint venture's Marketing Minister Pu Hongsheng said, Beijing Youth News reported Wednesday.

The existing Mazda CX-7 is a "front-engine, front-wheel-drive, compact SUV with a price tag of 288,000 yuan ($42,700), and is powered by a 2.5L engine.

The imported model has a bigger body size than its competitors such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4 but smaller than the Toyota Highlander. The-to-be-produced-model will remain the same size. 

As other automakers in Europe and U.S., the Japanese automaker is also stepping up efforts on research and development of the direct injection technology and improvement of the transmission efficiency.

Mazda models will deliver a 30% bump in fuel efficiency. Its high efficiency transmissions will have almost the same effect as the dual-clutch transmissions in enhancing power and lowering fuel consumption, Pu said.

FAW-Mazda will introduce the above two technologies to China in 2014 and apply them to all the Mazda models simultaneously.