Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor has started operations at its newly built vehicle assembly plant at Kulim in Malaysia.
The company has started production of Mazda CX-5 for Malaysia and Thailand at the new facility, which is located on the site of a plant owned by vehicle manufacturer Inokom.
Mazda Malaysia had invested MYR100m ($30.93m) for construction of the new facility, which houses a body shop and a vehicle assembly.
Mazda executive officer and Hiroshima Plant general manager Masatoshi Maruyama said the company regards Malaysia as a key production base in the ASEAN region and it is very pleased to further strengthen local production framework with the completion of this Mazda-exclusive vehicle assembly facility.
"Our sincere hope is that both here in Malaysia, and all over the world, these cars will enrich the lives of our customers, and help to build a special bond between them and the Mazda brand," Maruyama added.
The new facility has a total annual production capacity of about 20,000 units. The company has scheduled to the production of new Mazda3 for Malaysia in 2014.
According to the company, the Mazda-exclusive body shop and vehicle assembly facility offer better flexibility with the production plan and also enable it to offer better quality control measures.