Mazda gets new distributor in Malaysia

Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd (CCB) has given up yet another automotive franchise – with its previous Peugeot distributorship having ended by end-2007 – this time surrendering the Mazda brand. BerMaz Motor Sdn Bhd, a unit of Berjaya Corporation will acquire Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd’s wholly-owned current Mazda’s franchise holder, Hercules Automotive Engineers Sdn Bhd, for RM16.8million.

BerMaz Motor has sealed a 3 years distribution agreement with Mazda Motor Co. which will take effect as of 1st of April 2008. Berjaya Corp is currently involved with the sole distributorship of Skoda brand and has future prospect set on China’s Changan auto vehicles in Malaysia. With such acquisition, Bermaz Motor Sdn. Bhd. will officially take over all of Mazda’s automotive business in Malaysia by H2 2008.

You may want to read this:

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/10/ccb-gives-up-peugeot-in-malaysia.html

New Mazda2 Sedan

Mazda has revealed a booted version of its neat and cute Mazda2 (Demio in Japan) placing it in contention for a slice of the lucrative B-segment sedan market in China and possibly ASEAN. From these images it appeared as if the new Mazda2 sedan is a small C-segment sedan, with a huge rump to boot.

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The Mazda2 sedan comes with two petrol engines option, a 1.3L with 85hp or a 1.5L capable of 102hp, mated with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic transmission. Wheelbase is unchanged from the hatch at 2490mm.

Images of the new Mazda2 sedan you see here is a China market Demio sedan produced by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. at its Nanjing plant. The 3-box version of the Demio will go on sale in China by Q2 2008.

Will we see the attractive Mazda2 sedan in Malaysia sometime 2008/09, sourced perhaps from Mazda’s new manufacturing base in Thailand?

New Mazda CX-9 due in Q1 2008

According to a reliable source, franchise holder and sole distributor for Mazda vehicles in Malaysia, Cycle & Carriage Bintang (CCB) will launch the new CX-9 sometime Q1 2008. Rather surprisingly, this will take precedence over the smaller CX-7, which was actually planned for introduction this year.

Although similar in appearance to CX-7, the full-size 7-seater CX-9 hardly share much of the younger sibling’s platform components. For one, it will be powered by a 3.7L V6 capable of 273hp and 366Nm of torque. A 6-speed automatic transfers torque to all four wheels on demand (4WD). Even with the third-row of seats up, the boot space is still a generous 487 litre, a figure that belittle most MPVs out there.

To be fully-imported from (Hiroshima) Japan, the 2008 Mazda CX-9 will compete in the luxury SUV segment with the likes of Lexus RX350 and Volkswagen Touareg 3.6 V6. Expect competitive pricing, the insider added.

Related post:

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/01/coming-soon-mazda-cx-7.html

All-New Mazda6 Sedan, Wagon and Liftback for 2008

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The all-new Mazda6 which Mazda Motor Co. will unveil at the Frankfurt International Motorshow 2007 looks to be sporty and lithe, and is expected to have shed some kerb weight thus claimed to be more fuel efficient along with lower CO2 emission. No power figures are available at posting time. However, the scooped images revealed that the all-new Mazda6 will be offered in 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon and liftback variants.

Related post:
http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/08/all-new-mazda6-due-in-2008.html