Hiroshima, JAPAN: Mazda Motor Corporation has started production of the Next-Gen Mazda CX-5 medium sized SUV at Ujina Plant No. 2 near the company's global headquarters in Hiroshima.

The model will go on sale in Japan in February before being rolled out to global markets.

The original CX-5, production of which began in November 2011, introduced a new generation of models featuring the full range of SKYACTIV technology(1) and KODO design.

Cumulative production reached 1 million units in April 2015, making it the second fastest Mazda to reach the million-unit milestone after the Mazda3. Total production reached approximately 1.57 million units at the end of October this year.

With global sales increasing every year since launch, the Mazda CX-5 has grown into a core model that accounts for about a quarter of Mazda's annual sales volume.

The slogan for development of the Next-Gen Mazda CX-5 was "an SUV all customers will enjoy," and Mazda aimed for a new dimension of driving pleasure that can be shared by everyone on board - not just the driver.

Next-Gen Mazda CX-5 arrives in Australia in the first half of 2017.

¹ SKYACTIV is an umbrella term for Mazda's next-generation technologies, including petrol and diesel engines, transmissions, body and chassis, developed to provide both driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance, based on the company's Sustainable Zoom-Zoom long-term vision for technology development.