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The CX-30 will be Mazda's first car made in Indonesia in at least two decades – but Japan will continue to build the small SUV for Australia.
The first Mazda vehicle to be manufactured in Indonesia, a neighbouring country to Australia, in at least two decades has been confirmed.
Mazda has announced it will build its CX-30 small SUV in Indonesia when its new third-party distributor-operated factory opens.
"Local production of the CX-30 in Indonesia will be promoted," a Mazda official said in a presentation of its 2024 financial year results.
Globally, the Mazda CX-30 is currently manufactured in Japan, Thailand, Mexico, China and Malaysia, with Australia initially receiving it from Thailand when it launched in early 2020 before sourcing switched to Japan later in the year, where it has remained since.
"There's no changes for the Australian-market cars," a Mazda Australia spokesperson told Drive.
The news comes after the Indonesian Government indicated in mid-2023 it wanted Mazda to make Australia and Southeast Asia target export markets for vehicles it builds in Indonesia.
In June 2023, Indonesia's Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita met with senior executives from Mazda in Tokyo to discuss the company's investment in Indonesia.
"The Ministry of Industry expresses its appreciation for Mazda's investment plan in Indonesia," the minister said in a media statement.
"We want to confirm Mazda's production plan in Indonesia, as well as encourage Mazda to make Indonesia a production base in the [Southeast Asia] and Australia regions."
Construction of the factory commenced in mid-2024, according to CNN Indonesia.
It will be the first time Mazda has manufactured a vehicle in Indonesia in at least two decades and comes eight years after the brand moved to a third-party distributor, PT. Eurokars Motor, to sell its cars in the nation.
The 323 and 626 are believed to be the last models manufactured by Mazda in Indonesia, with both models replaced globally by the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 in the early 2000s.
The local spokesperson said Mazda will continue to utilise its factory in Thailand for the Australian market, which currently builds the Mazda 2 and CX-3, while the BT-50 ute is also manufactured in Thailand at an Isuzu factory alongside its D-Max ute and MU-X SUV twins.
"We will still continue to maximise production capacity at our Thai joint-venture factory [AutoAlliance Thailand]."
"In Thailand… we will develop and produce a new compact SUV, with plans for its introduction in the Thai market and for its export," the Mazda official said, with a graphic showing arrows pointing from Thailand towards Australia and Japan.
In its 2024 financial year results, Mazda announced its net sales revenue reached a record of "more than" five trillion yen ($AU53 billion), with a 5 per cent increase in its global sales year-on-year.
Mazda has announced a plan to "turn the business around" in China, Japan and Southeast Asia using learnings from the United States, where it achieved a record sales volume in 2024, amid a sales decline in the three regions.
In Australia, Mazda recorded a 1 per cent sales decline in the 2024 Japanese financial year compared to 2023 – attributed to the deletion of the CX-8 and CX-9 seven-seat SUVs – with 97,345 sales between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
"Market share grew, thanks to the introduction of Large models [CX-60, 70, 80 and 90] and robust sales of the CX-3 and CX-5," Mazda said about the Australian market.
The new-generation 2026 Mazda CX-5 remains on track for a global debut between July and September 2025, with an Australian launch expected by the end of the year or at the start of 2026.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
