A pretty seventh generation Mazda 323 sedan, seen in the great city of Guangzhou in China’s Guangdong Province in 2015. The cool Mazda compact was in a fantastic shape, painted in a blue purple shade of blue and fitted with the original factory wheels.
A very interesting 粤Y·Y0233 license plate. 粤 (Yue) refers to Yuefangyan, an old alternative name for Guangdong Province.
The seventh generation ‘BG’ Mazda 323 was made in Japan from 1989 until 1994. After production ended, the production line was shipped over to China, where production began in 1998 by the Hainan-Mazda joint venture. CA7130 was the Chinese designation for the 323.
Hainan-Mazda also made the Mazda HMC6470L wagon, based on the third generation Mazda 929, and the Mazda HMC6450, which was based on the Mazda MPV. The Hainan-Mazda joint venture was disbanded in 2006 when FAW became the majority shareholder of Hainan Auto. FAW and Mazda subsequently formed the FAW-Mazda joint venture. Hainan Auto got the right to sell old Mazda’s under the Haima brand.
The interior was in a great shape for such an old car! The plastics look fantastics, the door panels are like new, and the leather seats look factory fresh. Almost a time capsule, this little Mazda. But I really live the tall gear lever, coming from a position low on the floor, with a big black knob. You don’t see ‘m like that anymore! The Hainan-Mazda 323 was equipped with luxuries like a CD player and electric windows, which was quite special for the segment in that time.
The CA7130 was powered by a 1.3 liter 16-valve EFI engine with 77hp and 110 Nm. The motor was mated to a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, sending horses to the front wheels. The manual version, like we have here, had a top speed of 160 km/h and did 0-100 in 16.65 seconds. The CA7130 323 weighed only 1020 kilo so fuel consumption was reasonable with 4.8 liter per 100 kilometers. Hainan-Mazda also sold a 1.8 liter version of the 323 which was designated CA7160. Base price of the 1.3 was 135.800 yuan.
Even today you can still find some of these old Mazda’s running around town. They were strong little cars it seems!
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