Here’s a Mazda 323 sedan, seen in Dongba District in Beijing in May 2016. The good Mazda looked incredibly good and perfectly maintained, like a time capsule from the early 2000s, painted in a light-beige color and still on the factory-original seven-spoke wheels.
About Hainan-Mazda
Hainan-Mazda was a joint venture between Hainan Auto and Mazda Motors, founded in 1991. The full name was Hainan Mazda Corporation (HMC). It made several Mazda and Hainan-branded cars for the Chinese market, all based on Mazda platforms. After a takeover in 2006, Hainan-Mazda became FAW-Mazda. This joint venture existed until 2024, when it was merged into Changan-Mazda. Well, it keeps ‘m busy!
The Hainan-Mazda 323 sedan
Hainan-Mazda produced the 323 (seventh generation, BG) from 1994 until 2004. The factory was nearby Haikou, the capital of China’s Hainan Province.
CA7130 was the Chinese designation for the 1.3-liter model, while Mazda also offered a 1.8-liter version designated CA7180. As was common with older vehicles, the model designation had to be displayed on the car itself. This was a legal requirement and could take the form of a badge, decal, or sticker, but it had to be clearly visible. Today, such external designation requirements generally apply only to commercial vehicles.
The interior
The cabin looked almost as clean as the exterior! Well maintained again. There’s a little wear on the seats, but not that much. Interestinly, it doesn’t have any seat covers. 99.99999% of all cars from this period had seat covers fitted by the owners.
There’s a lucky charm hanging from the mirror. Look at the gear lever cover – like it has never been touched! The floor mats have a metal look but they are made of plastic, Tycho had exactly the same mats in his Beijing-Jeep Cherokee.
Specifications of the Hainan-Mazda 323
The engine of the Mazda 323 CA7130 was a 1.3-liter 16-valve EFI unit with an output of 77 hp and 110 Nm. The transmission was a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, sending horsepower to the front wheels.
Check out the beautiful red panel between the lights with “323” stamped in the middle.
The manual version, like we have here, had a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour, and did 0-100 in a relaxed 16.65 seconds. The 323 CA7130 weighed only 1020 kilograms, so fuel consumption was reasonable, with 4.8 liters per 100 kilometers.
Price and legacy
When launched, the base price of the Hainan-Mazda 323 CA7130 was only 135.800 yuan. That was a good deal for what you got and there was a lot of interest in the Chinese-Japanese sedan. Sadly, a lack of dealers meant that Mazda wasn’t able to deliver what the market wanted. The network was okay in southern China, so Hainan-Mazda cars are quite common there, but in the north the number of dealers was really small.
Today, the small sedan is largely forgotten. There are no clubs or dedicated websites, and it sure isn’t a museum-quality classic. Too bad, because the Hainan-Mazda 323 was a good-looking little sedan, offering great value for money.