Mazda Historical Highlights PDF

12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS HOME  Since itsABOUT MAZDA founding ...

12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS HOME  Since itsABOUT MAZDA founding  HISTORY OF MAZDA in 1920,  HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS Mazda has always strived to create ideal products by tackling various challenges and overcoming crises and adversities again and again to become the Mazda of today. The Company will continue to value its originality and provide new value to society, taking on Challenge Spirit. 1920-1945 From cork manufacturing to the machine industry History of Mazda began in 1920 when Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd was founded. In 1921, Jujiro Matsuda, the second president, developed compressed cork board https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 1/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE and got production on track. However, a few years later, a large fire destroyed 70% of the company’s facility. While diligently working on rebuilding the factory, Jujiro Matsuda decided to shift the company's focus to machinery, a field in which he had experience and achievements in. In 1927, Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd changed its name to “Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd”. Four years later, the company constructed a new plant to produce automobiles in Fuchu Village (currently Fuchu Town) and relocated the headquarters there from Hiroshima City. The company’s tricycle truck, which was named “Mazda-go,” quickly became one of the biggest brands in Japan’s three-wheeled truck market, partly due to innovative sales promotion. Production of machinery tools, miner drills, and gauge blocks also began. Motivated by the positive response from the market for their engineering excellence, Toyo Kogyo began investing in research and development of small passenger vehicles. But the deteriorating state of Japan during World War II forced the company to switch to military production. Under the orders from the Japanese Army and Navy, the company produced arms and related parts until the end of war. Hiroshima city was devastated by the atomic bomb, but Toyo Kogyo, with the damage to its facilities being minimal, began working hard to resume production while also helping the recovery efforts of Hiroshima city by providing relief for disaster victims and accepting government agencies such as the prefectural office to temporarily operate in its premises. https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 2/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE 1946-1974 Venturing into passenger car market Overcoming shortages of materials and difficulties in obtaining parts immediately after the war, Toyo Kogyo’s vehicle production reached over 3,000 units per month by 1953. It was around this time that the company actively formed a technology partnership with overseas companies to introduce state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies such as shell mold casting. The partnership was intended to drive operational streamlining and rationalization for the company to prepare its entry to the four-wheel vehicle market, and enhance competitiveness of Toyo Kogyo’s tricycle trucks, helping the company cement its strong position in the market. In 1960, the R360 Coupe, Mazda’s very first passenger vehicle, rolled off the assembly line of the state of the art computer-controlled plant, which signaled the beginning of their journey as a general automotive manufacturer. Strong sales of the company’s micro passenger vehicles launched one after the other, made Toyo Kogyo Japan’s leading producer of automobile for three consecutive years. The company reinforced its model line-up, mainly small passenger vehicles, and https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 3/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE at the same time, invested in building its key business foundation, namely construction of the Ujina Plant and Miyoshi Proving Grounds. Furthermore, Toyo Kogyo ventured into a competition to commercially produce a rotary engine (RE), admired as a “dream engine” by car engineers. After years of tackling numerous engineering challenges, Toyo Kogyo finally succeeded in commercialization of the RE. In 1967, the company proudly launched Cosmo Sports, a sports car powered by the world’s first two-rotor RE, which demonstrated Toyo Kogyo’s engineering excellence to the world. Export of its vehicles to European and North American market got into full swing around the same time. The RE commanded enthusiastic attention as a high-performance, low-pollution engine, but it had a weakness in fuel consumption. Soaring crude oil price during the first oil crisis caused the Cosmo Sports sales to plummet, forcing Toyo Kogyo to make a pivotal shift from its RE model-centered product strategy. 1975-1995 Business globalization and expansion https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 4/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE After conducting an extensive review of its model lineup, Toyo Kogyo proposed a new user-oriented vehicle value delivered by its Familia AP and Bongo Multi-van. However, that did not mean giving up on its RE; taking advantage of the engine’s compact, high-output advantages, the RE was mounted to sports specialty models such as the Savanna RX-7. The company also launched its corporate identity and focused on consolidating the corporate image around symbol mark. In 1979, Toyo Kogyo formed a capital alliance with Ford Motor Company to strengthen its business foundation. Commissioned manufacturing for Ford expanded from small commercial vehicles to transmission units and small passenger vehicles, which helped Toyo Kogyo’s annual production to surpass 1 million units. In 1982, a new plant was constructed in Hofu City, Yamaguchi prefecture, as one of the company’s two key production sites in Japan. Good news continued when the company’s front-wheel drive models, namely the Familia and the Capella, were respectively named the winner of the prestigious Japan Car of the Year Awards. Two years later, in 1984, the company changed its name to Mazda Motor Corporation to integrate its brand and company name. In the late 1980’s, due to its reliance on export business, Mazda was hit hard by rapid appreciation of Japanese yen. Quickly shifting its focus to the domestic market, and with its forecast on steady growth of fast-expanding luxury car market in Japan, Mazda developed a line-up expansion plan, mainly around high-performance V6 engine-powered midsize sedans. The company continued to accelerate development of premium models and innovative technology, and created two new dealer sales channels – “EUNOS” for premium models, and https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 5/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE “AUTOZAM” for mainly micros, which completed the company’s 5-channel domestic sales structure. Adding import models from Europe and Ford models produced overseas, Mazda took on a challenge to achieve 800,000-unit domestic sales. 1996-2009 Development of brand strategy Burst of Japan’s bubble economy brought a downturn in the marketplace, and Mazda found itself facing a serious financial crisis. The company had no choice but to reconsider its business expansion strategy. Mazda hammered out a series of emergency actions, at the same time reinforced its alliance with Ford. In 1996, Ford upped its Mazda shareholding ratio from 25% to 33.4%, and appointed the first non-Japanese President and CEO for Mazda who aggressively led business streamlining. To get the company’s business back to a growth trajectory, brand strategy was defined as a business focus. The Ford Group already had multiple https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 6/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE automotive brands and had an urgent need to clearly define Mazda’s position and role within the Group. While executing its new medium-term business management plan called the “Millennium Plan” that included closing of plants and cut in workforce, Mazda developed new models that embodied the brand DNA defined based on its new brand strategy. Under its universal slogan, “Zoom- Zoom”, Mazda launched global core models headed by the Atenza, Demio, and Axela to establish the new Mazda. In 2007, the company announced its long- term technology development vision “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom.” With the goal of improving average fuel economy by 30%, Mazda declared its commitment to drastically improve the performance of its internal combustion engines and achieve both the “joy of driving” and excellent environmental and safety performance. Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Ford gradually sold its Mazda stocks, which brought an end to its 12-year management of the company. With quick fixes such as thorough cost improvements and making all-out fund procurement efforts, Mazda renewed its determination to make its ideal vehicles to survive and thrive. https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 7/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE 2010-today A period of change with sharpened business focus With its next-generation technologies “SKYACTIV” and a new design philosophy, “KODO – Soul of Motion design”, MAZDA succeeded in taking its design and performance to the next level. The company also introduced Monotsukuri (manufacturing) Innovation in which it bundled planning of new product groups and aimed to strike the right balance of commonality and diversity for highly efficient car manufacturing. The Mazda CX-5, launched in 2012, was the first model coming out of Mazda’s new-generation products, all of which earned high acclaim in markets around the world. Its powerful yet environmental-friendly clean diesel engine created a new market. Mazda also worked on strengthening its business in emerging countries; local production in Vietnam, Malaysia and Russia started, and a new plant was opened in Mexico. In the mid-2010s, when the automotive industry faced a seismic shift, Mazda announced a business and capital alliance with Toyota Motor Corporation. It led to realizing a joint production in the U.S. while establishing a collaborative relationship for joint development of connected and EV technologies. In its long-term technology development vision, “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030,” Mazda outlined a comprehensive approach to CO2 reduction from a "Well-to- https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 8/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE Wheel" perspective, that took into account the power generation process. The vision also introduced Mazda’s “Multi-Solution” strategy, in which internal combustion engines and electrification technologies are deployed in optimal ways for environment and for meeting customer needs. In 2020, the 100th anniversary of its founding , Mazda launched its very first mass-production EV, the MX-30 in Europe. In 2022, the company launched a series of models of its Large Product Group with significantly evolved “joy of driving” and environmental and safety technology. Over the recent years, Mazda articulated its milestones for realizing a carbon-neutral society with a new roadmap. Under the updated corporate philosophy, the company is accelerating its initiatives toward an electrified society. ABOUT MAZDA TOP  CORPORATE  2030 VISION / CEO MESSAGE  COMPANY OUTLINE  PHILOSOPHY MANAGEMENT  https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 9/10 12/2/24, 8:42 AM HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS｜History｜ABOUT MAZDA｜MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE POLICY UP TO 2030 EXECUTIVES  HISTORY  MAJOR FACILITIES  MAJOR AFFILIATES  © Mazda Motor Corporation All Rights Reserved. https://www.mazda.com/en/about/history/highlights/ 10/10