Less than two years after concept, Mazda Motor Corporation has built its first CX-7 crossover SUV, designed and engineered specifically for the North American market, at the Ujina Plant No. 2 in Hiroshima.
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Mazda’s president and CEO, Hisakazu Imaki, and North American operations president and CEO Jim O’Sullivan were at the traditional line-off ceremony, also attended by around 700 plant workers.
The five-seat CX-7 is built on a Mazda-designed platform will cost from US$23,750 when launched in the US this coming spring.
All versions will have a 244-horsepower turbocharged and intercooled 2.3-litre four-cylinder direct-injection petrol engine.
O’Sullivan commented on the short development lead time.
“The CX-7 wasn’t even a sketch on a cocktail napkin a little over two years ago,” he said at the ceremony. “The fact that I’m standing here today watching the first CX-7 roll off the line marks a milestone in Mazda’s ability to design and engineer vehicles for specific markets such as North America.”
