The Hiroshima-based automaker announced today that it held a special ceremony in order to celebrate the start of manufacturing the CX-3 at its Auto Alliance plant in Thailand.

Mazda is are adamant that the cars rolling out of the Thai factory are identical to the ones made in the company’s home plant since December 2014. “AAT is an extremely important hub that consolidates our system for supplying the CX-3 promptly and consistently to the growing compact SUV market”, said Managing Executive Officer Kiyotaka Shobuda. “By providing customers with Thai-produced vehicles which are as high-quality as those we make in Japan, we will further raise our brand image.”

The small SUV became available in Japan at the end of 2014 and landed on US soil this August. It is available only with the 2.0-liter SKYACTIV-G petrol engine mated to a 6-speed auto gearbox driving the front wheels.

Customers can chose between three trim levels, with a starting price of US$19,960 (excluding handling and delivery) – and if they want to go a bit further off-road, the i-ACTIVE all-wheel drive is a US$1,250 option.

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