Mother of Generations of Mazda Cars
Mazda’s Hofu factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, is the mother factory that has turned out generations of Mazda cars. At the moment, production of a new sibling, the fully remodeled Mazda2, is in full swing there.
The Hofu factory was completed in 1982 as Mazda’s first production facility outside of its home base in Hiroshima. State-of-the-art production systems were introduced there to produce and deliver high-quality cars at affordable prices.
The first model made in the Hofu factory was the fourth-generation Mazda 626 (FF first-generation Capella in Japan), which was selected as the 1993 Import Car of the Year by the U.S. Motor Trend magazine and which was also honored with the 1982-1983 Japan Car of the Year award. Over the following years, a wide range of models were made there, including the Mazda 626 (Mazda Cronos), Mazda Millenia (EUNOS800), Mazda 323F/323 Astina (Mazda Lantis) and Mazda TRIBUTE. The first generation model of the iconic MX-5 two-seater was also temporarily produced there.
Mazda 626 (FF first-generation Capella in Japan)
In 2002, the Hofu factory kicked off production of the first generation Mazda6, which embodied Mazda’s “Zoom-Zoom” brand essence ― the exhilaration and liberation of experiencing the emotion of motion ― and in 2003, production of the first-generation Mazda3 started there. Both models have grown popular worldwide, being born at the same mother factory of Hofu.
With cumulative production of more than 10 million vehicles, this mother factory will continue to bring coming generations of Mazda cars to the world.
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