Mazda to Woo SEMA Show Crowd with MX-5 Spyder and Mazda2 Turbo Hot Hatch

The countdown to the 2011 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas is heating up with only a few days left before the big event kicks off on Tuesday, November 1.

Mazda will be there with at least two concept models including the MX-5 Spyder and the Mazda2 Turbo.

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New Vietnamese Plant Begins Production of Mazda2

Mazda held a grand opening ceremony at Vietnam today to celebrate the beginning of local assembly of its Mazda2 model.

The new plant is located in the Nui Thanh district of Quang Nam province in central Vietnam and was constructed by Vina Mazda Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a 100-percent local car assembly and sales company with no capital ties to Mazda Motor Corporation.

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Mazda Begins Construction of New Mexican Plant that will Produce the Mazda2 and Mazda3

In order to keep up with the growing demand in the Central and South American markets as well as to reduce its dependence on Japan, Mazda has formed a new joint venture Sumitomo Corporation to build a new factory hub in Mexico.

The joint venture facility is named Mazda Motor Manufacturing de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (MMMdM) and is located in the Mexican city of Salamanca, in the state of Guanajuato.

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Refreshed Mazda Demio goes on Sale in Japan

Mazda announced today that sales of the facelifted Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as the rest of the world knows it, have begun in Japan. The new Mazda2 is the company’s supermini and the target sales for its home market is 6,000 units per month. Read more »

Mazda Introduces Revised 2012 Demio with new SKYACTIV-G 1.3-Liter Engine in Japan

Mazda has just released a refreshed version of its Demio sub-compact car in its home market of Japan. The big news for the 2012MY Demio, which we know here as the Mazda2, is the introduction of the brand new “13-SKYACTIV” model grade equipped with a suite of fuel-saving technologies most important of which is the “SKYACTIV-G 1.3” 1.3-liter direct-injection gasoline engine.

The four-cylinder powerplant features a record high compression ratio of 14.0:1 and puts out 84-horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 112 Nm (82.6 lb-ft) of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. It is coupled to a standard Continuously Variable Transmission and according to the Japanese norms, it’s fuel economy is rated at 30km/lt (equal to 3.33 lt/100 km or 70.6 mpg US).

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Mazda Debuts New 1.3-liter Skyactiv Gasoline Engine on JDM Demio

The new generation of powertrains developed by Mazda under the Skyactiv name will soon have its another member out on the road, as the company announced that the “Skyactiv-G 1.3” direct-injection gasoline engine will debut on the facelifted Demio (known as the Mazda2 in international markets) in Japan this summer. Mazda will unveil the new engine at Tokyo's Automotive Engineering Exposition on May 18-20.

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Australia: Now you see the New Mazda2 Sedan, now you Don't

The Mazda2 four-door small sedan has been dropped from the firm's lineup in Australia, just eight months after launch. The reason is Mazda's decision to switch production of the Australian market version of the small car from its Thailand factory, which manufactures both sedan and hatchback body styles, to the company's Hiroshima plant in Japan, which builds only the hatchback version.

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Mazda to Lease All-Electric Mazda2 in Japan

Mazda today announced that it's developing an electric vehicle based on the Demio subcompact – known as the Mazda2 in Europe and North America –, which will be available for lease in Japan starting from spring 2012.

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Mazda brings Super20 MX-5 along with other tuned models to SEMA Show

In order to take full advantage of the aftermarket fanboys trolling around SEMA, Mazda released more than a few examples of the paths tuners could take when modifying its MX-5 roadster, Mazda2, and Mazda3 models.

The Mazda2s seen here are designed with two different goals in mind: looking slick on the street, or tearing it up at the track.

The Mazda2 Street keeps it simple by getting lowered on a set of 15x9s and adding some lower-body graphics, while the Mazda2 Evil Track gets the same rims, more aggressive vinyl, and enough safety/racing gear to meet NASA and SCCA standards. The "Evil Track" also wears a Mazda Design body kit and rides on H&R coilovers.

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Refreshed 2010 Mazda2 Hatchback and New Sedan Variant Heading to Australia

A subtly updated version of the 2010 Mazda2 will make its way to Australian showrooms in May in hatchback and for the first time, sedan body styles. Aside from the new looks and the addition of the longer, four-door sedan to the range, the 2010 Mazda2 also heralds the change of production as the refreshed model will now be sourced from the company's new factory in Thailand instead of Japan.

As with the North American version of the car, the styling tweaks on the revamped Aussie-spec Mazda2 are mostly concentrated up front and concern the new front bumper that incorporates the firm's smiley-shaped lower grille, darker head light clusters and the revised upper grille.

Both body styles of the new Mazda2 will continue to be powered by a 76kW / 102HP 1.5-liter petrol engine hooked up to either manual or automatic transmissions.

According to Mazda's Aussie division, the new sedan version which boasts 450 liters of boot capacity will come equipped with several standard features including 15 inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, as well as front, side and curtain SRS airbags, and ABD with EBD.

Spot the Differences: North American 2011 Mazda2 Interior Revealed at Canada Auto Show

After comparing photos of the interiors of the North America and European Mazda2 the only visible differences we spotted between the two models concern the relocation and redesign of the glove box on the passenger's side and the new seat trims. Other than that, the interiors of the N.A.- and Euro-spec Mazda2 are identical.

This is the first time that Mazda showed off the North American Mazda2's interior after the small hatchback's debut at last year's LA Show.

On this side of the Atlantic, the Ford Fiesta's platform-partner will go on sale this summer with the five-door body style and a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, with more details expected to be announced closer to its launch.