Mazda partner to build Mazda2 subcompact in

Vietnam
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp said on Tuesday its Vietnamese partner would
start assembling the Mazda2 subcompact at a new factory in central Vietnam from October,
replacing imports from Japan.

Local distributor Vina Mazda Automobile Manufacturing, in which Mazda has no equity stake,
will initially assemble about 2,000 Mazda2s a year at the Quang Nam province plant to serve the
burgeoning Vietnamese market, Mazda said in a statement.

Mazda entered Vietnam in March by making Vina Mazda its exclusive distributor to sell the
Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX-9 imported from Japan and the BT-50 pickup truck from
Thailand.

The Saigon Times Daily reported last month that in addition to the Mazda2, called the Demio in
Japan, the new factory would be designed to eventually assemble other cars and light trucks with
annual output capacity of 20,000 vehicles. The vehicles would be sold in Vietnam and other
Southeast Asian countries, the paper said.

A Mazda spokesman said the factory would have a maximum capacity of 10,000 vehicles a year
and consider adding other models to the production lineup.

Mazda, like other Japanese automakers, is looking to reduce vehicle exports from Japan in the
face of the strong yen, which makes it hard for exported cars to be competitively priced or
profitable.

In June, Mazda announced plans to build a factory in Mexico to produce the Mazda2 and
Mazda3 for the Americas.

Shares in Mazda were up 3.7 percent at the midday break in Tokyo, in line with a strong rise in
other Japanese auto stocks. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Michael Watson)