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Mazda history
Mazda company history timeline
Toyo Cork Kogyo renamed itself to Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1927.
1927: After expanding the product line to include machined products, the company drops the word Cork from its name.
1929: Company begins production of machine tools.
In 1931, it evolves to sell three-wheel pickup trucks and small vehicles for the Japanese market.
In 1935 the company began turning out rock drills and gauge blocks, which were of particular interest to Sumitomo, then one of Japan's largest mining concerns.
Nevertheless, by December 1945 Toyo Kogyo was back in business, again turning out the three-wheeled trucks that were the core of its business.
1945: Following a wartime shift to military supply production, the company resumes production of its three-wheeled truck.
In 1954 Toyo Kogyo established a technological agreement with Acme Resin that enabled the company to begin using a new shell molding method.
Due to World War II, Mazda did not produce a second vehicle until 1958, when it introduced the Romper, a four-wheeled light truck.
1960: Company introduces its first passenger car, the two-door Mazda R360 coupe.
1961: Toyo Kogyo enters into an agreement with NSU/Wankel to develop the German firm's rotary engine.
In the meantime, Toyo Kogyo introduced a four-door automobile, the Carol 600, in 1962, and the following year the company's one millionth vehicle rolled off its assembly line.
In 1965 Toyo Kogyo produced another new model, the Mazda 800/1000, and completed work on a proving ground at Miyoshi.
During this time the company formed a business alliance with NSU and began to manufacture the limited-production Cosmo Sport in 1967.
Mazda introduces a lightweight, ultra-efficient combination of engine, chassis, suspension, transmission and body components called “SKY” that indicate Mazda’s next-generation vehicles. It is the first time Mazda has had a clean-sheet design without a single carryover part larger than a bolt since 1967.
Vehicle sales begin in the US, with the first imports from Japan departing Hiroshima on April 14, 1970, to arrive at the port of Seattle.
NSU, as well as other companies, gave up designing Wankel-type engines back in 1970.
Additionally, it is also the only marque to have ever offered a rotary-powered bus (the Mazda Parkway, offered only in Japan) or station wagon (within the RX-3 & RX-4 line for US markets). After nine years of development, Mazda finally launched its new model in the United States in 1970.
In 1970, Mazda formally entered the American market (Mazda North American Operations) and was very successful there, going so far as to create the Mazda Rotary Pickup (based on the conventional piston-powered B-Series model) solely for North American buyers.
1970: Mazda starts exports to the United States market.
These included large and small efforts in all areas of the automotive landscape — most notably in the realm of pickup trucks (such as the Mazda B-Series, which spawned a Ford Courier variant in North America in 1972) and smaller cars.
In 1972 Henry Ford flew to Hiroshima to negotiate a license that would allow the Ford Motor Company to begin building rotary engines.
The smaller Familia line in particular became very important to Mazda’s worldwide sales after 1973, as did the somewhat larger Capella series.
By 1974, amid increasing pressure from the OPEC embargo, Toyo Kogyo managed to stretch the Mazda's mileage rating to 16 miles per gallon, and then 20.
At the beginning of 1976, Mazda sold their Titan and Bongo cab-over trucks with Ford badging.
The company enjoyed a jump in sales in 1979, when the Iranian Revolution caused a brief oil crisis.
In 1979 Ford Motor Company began negotiations to acquire a large stake in Toyo Kogyo, hoping to merge it with its own Japanese subsidiary, Ford Industries.
By 1979, Mazda exports to North America surpassed 1 million vehicles.
In the spring of 1980, Mazda began supplying Ford with manual transaxles.
In 1980, shedding the last of its failures with the rotary engine, Toyo Kogyo settled a class-action suit charging design flaws with early models.
In 1981, as it exported its five millionth vehicle, the company set up sales organizations in the United States and Europe.
Mazda Motor continued to be led by a committee of Sumitomo bankers, who received input from Ford and the South Korean automaker Kia Motors Corporation; Mazda had acquired an 8 percent interest in Kia in 1983.
In the following years Mazda became more and more popular in the United States, so much so that it established Mazda Motors Manufacturing in the United States in early 1985 and then a year later added the Mazda R&D Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
By 1987 the company had produced 20 million vehicles.
In 1987, however, Norimasa Furuta, a former official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, assumed the presidency of the company.
1987: Mazda establishes a United States production facility in the Detroit suburb of Flat Rock, Michigan.
Production in the United States began in 1987.
September 1989 was a major milestone for Mazda—this was when the MX-5 Roadster was first introduced.
Introduction of the 1989 Mazda MPV minivan.
Mazda introduces the MX-5 Miata sports car as a 1990 model at February’s Chicago Auto Show.
Introduction of the all-new 323 3-door hatchback and 1990 Mazda Protegé, which replaces the Mazda 323 sedan.
30th Anniversary of the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans victory
Furthermore, Mazda helped Ford to develop the 1991 Explorer.
In 1991, Mazda solidified its position in the competitive racing world by winning its first Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance Race.
Introduction of the all-new 1992 Mazda 929 luxury sedan and MX-3 sports coupe, the first in its class offered with a 1.8-liter V6 engine, the smallest V6 in mass production.
1992: Company sells to Ford a 50 percent interest in its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant, creating the joint venture AutoAlliance International, Inc.
Mazda enters into an agreement with Ford Motor Company to develop and manufacture a new Mazda compact B-Series Truck for the North American market, starting in 1993.
Assembly of the all-new 1993 Mazda MX-6, 626, and Ford Probe begins at AAI.
In 1993 Mazda had opened another production company in the Philippines, and two years later it began a joint venture with Ford called AutoAlliance (Thailand) Company Limited.
Sumitomo Bank had its own idea of how to bolster the company, which at times teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and which was in the midst of five straight years in the red, a streak that began with the fiscal year ending in March 1994.
Mazda posts best sales record since 1994.
Assembly of the one-millionth Mazda at AAI. Introduction of Mazda’s all-new 1994 B-Series Truck, assembled in Edison, New Jersey, in collaboration with Ford.
1994: Mazda posts a net loss for the year, the first of five straight years in the red.
In June 1996, Henry Wallace was appointed President, and he set about restructuring Mazda and setting it on a new strategic direction.
Actual vehicles made and sold had declined also, from a peak of 1.4 million manufactured and 600,000 sold in Japan to 800,000 manufactured and 400,000 sold in 1996.
According to the Economist in 1996, Mazda had lost its unique edge, which it had hoped to recover with the Miata: "Most of Mazda's output is dull, fairly mainstream and fairly expensive.
Lewis Booth was the successor, becoming the fourth Ford-dispatched executive to lead Mazda since the United States automaker acquired its controlling stake in 1996.
At the end of 1997, Wallace retired from the presidency and was replaced by another former Ford executive, James Miller.
Mazda debuts the 1998.5 Mazda B-Series Cab Plus 4, the first 4-door import-brand truck.
Mazda introduces the all-new third-generation Protegé as a 1999 model.
Mazda redesigns the MX-5 Miata for the first time since its introduction nine years earlier, debuting the new car as a 1999 model.
Toward these ends, Mazda in 1999 sold its stake in Ford Sales Japan, the former Autorama chain of showrooms, to Ford of Japan, and its stake in Mazda Credit, Mazda's finance arm, to Ford Credit.
1999: Mazda posts its first full-year net profits in six years.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2000, Mazda posted a net loss of ¥155.24 billion ($1.29 billion), because of a combination of falling sales in Japan and Europe, ¥40 billion in restructuring charges, and a ¥155 billion charge to offset an expected shortage in retirement-benefit funds.
During 2000 Mazda introduced into the United States and Japanese markets the Tribute, a compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that had been jointly developed with Ford.
Ford's small-car operations in Europe, however, threatened to make Mazda production redundant. It also hoped to integrate Mazda into its global reorganization, Ford 2000, intending to use Mazda's small-car and engineering expertise to benefit other Ford operations and, at the same time, to create economies of scale for Mazda.
Tribute crossover introduced as a 2001 model year vehicle in conjunction with Ford.
Mazda introduces the Mazda Protegé5 sports wagon as a 2002 model.
Late in 2002 the new models began their rollout.
These introductions were supported by a marketing campaign that featured the slogan "Zoom-Zoom." Even though the new models did not affect the full-year results, they nevertheless aided Mazda's strong performance for the fiscal year ending in March 2003.
MAZDA6 wins more than 60 domestic and international awards during its first year, including a Car and Driver “10Best,” Automobile Magazine “All-Star,” and MONEY®magazine “2003 Best Mid-Sized Sedan.”
Mazda launches United States production and North American sales of 2003 MAZDA6 sports sedan to replace 626 sedan.
Mazda introduces turbocharged MAZDASPEED Protegé as a 2003 model, sharing both learnings from the Protégé MP3 and technologies shared with motorsports outfitter Racing Beat.
Strong sales of the cars was expected to result in record pretax profits for the fiscal year ending in March 2004 of ¥57 billion ($523 million), double the previous year's figure.
By March 2004 Nikkei Weekly was reporting that the Atenza/Mazda6, the Demio/Mazda2, the RX-8, and the Axela/Mazda3 had won a total of 129 awards worldwide.
By March 2004 Mazda was involved in three joint ventures with China FAW Group Corp., the nation's leading automaker, for the production of several Mazda models.
RX-8 receives Car and Driver “10Best” award, MONEY® magazine’s “Best Sports Car” award, and is a 2004 Automobile Magazine “All-Star”
Mazda introduces 2004 MAZDA3 4-Door and 5-Door that are designed to replace the Protégé. It is the first compact car in the United States to have available xenon HID headlights or leather seats, effectively raising the game in its class.
Mazda introduces first-ever MX-5 Power Retractable Hardtop (PRHT) model as a 2007 model.
The company hoped to increase sales in China from 80,000 vehicles to 200,000 by 2007.
Due to the financial crisis of 2008, Ford revealed that they would be selling 20% of their shares, thus reducing their stake in the Japanese car company to 13.4% and surrendering total control of the company.
Amidst the world financial crisis in the fall of 2008, reports emerged that Ford was contemplating a sale of its stake in Mazda as a way ofstreamlining its asset base.
Second-generation Mazda6 introduced in United States as 2009 model.
The subcompact Mazda2 is introduced at November’s Los Angeles Auto Show, to go on sale the following year as a 2010 model.
On November 18, 2010, Ford reduced its stake further to 3%, citing the reduction of ownership would allow greater flexibility to pursue growth in emerging markets, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group was believed to become its largest shareholder.
Mazda launches the Mazda3 sedans as a 2012 model, with the vehicle gaining the availability of a SKYACTIV 2.0-liter engine, which is more than 20-percent more fuel-efficient than its MZR-engine predecessor while delivering better performance.
A school teacher in Chicago unknowingly purchases the 10 millionth Mazda sold in the United States—a 2013 Mazda3 Touring 5-door.
The Mazda CX-5 makes its world debut, set to go on sale in the United States as a 2013 model.
Mazda's focused effort on creating a refreshed dealership design and customer experience, referred to as Retail Evolution, was originally announced in 2014.
Upon tracking her purchase, Mazda contacts her to recognize her purchase, buy the car back from her for its collection and reward her with a loaded, all-new 2014 Mazda3 s Grand Touring 5-door.
The Mazda3 goes on sale in summer as a 2014 model using Mazda’s full array of SKYACTIV Technology.
Mazda’s most recent endeavors include its partnership with Toyota in May 2015.
Finally, Ford sold their remaining shares to Mazda in September 2015.
Introduced at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda’s RX-VISION concept vehicle displays both the company’s next iteration of KODO design and its commitment to rotary engine development.
Having produced over 1.5 million vehicles in Japan and manufacturing plants around the world for global sale in 2015, Mazda was rated as the fifteenth biggest automaker by production worldwide.
Mazda builds 1 millionth MX-5—a right-hand-drive soft top model—on April 22, 2016.
The second-generation CX-9 three-row crossover SUV goes on sale as a 2016 model in June.
Mazda announces the next generation of the SKYACTIV-D diesel engine is scheduled to be sold in the CX-5 toward the end of 2017.
It goes on sale first in the 2017 Mazda3 and Mazda6 in late summer.
The 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary edition debuts at the Chicago Auto Show.
MNAO announces the 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature AWD featuring the Skyactiv-D 2.2-liter diesel engine at the 2019 New York International Auto Show.
The CX-30 joins the list of Mazda vehicles awarded by IIHS as 2020 TOP SAFETY PICK+ recipients.
Mazda celebrates its centennial with the announcement of the 2020 Mazda MX-5 Miata 100th Anniversary Special Edition.
In Huntsville, the full shovel of dirt was turned on what will become a jointly owned-and-operated automotive production plant, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, United StatesA., Inc, (MTMUS). Beginning in 2021, the plant will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles a year.
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Mazda competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi Motors | 1981 | $1.5B | 2,000 | 18 |
| General Motors | 1908 | $187.4B | 155,000 | 2,447 |
| Karma Automotive | 2015 | $204.0M | 625 | 8 |
| Rivian | 2009 | $5.0B | 7,500 | 485 |
| Subaru | 1968 | $4.1B | 5,900 | 141 |
| 500 Automotive Group, LLC | - | $400,000 | 5 | - |
| Gene Reed Toyota | - | $25.1M | 150 | - |
| Mercedes-Benz USA | 1965 | $7.6B | 1,400 | 72 |
| Berlin City Auto Group | 1981 | $29.0M | 220 | 34 |
| Lee Auto Malls | 1936 | $27.0M | 152 | - |
Mazda history FAQs
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Mazda may also be known as or be related to Mazda, Mazda Motor, Mazda Motor of America Inc, Mazda Motor of America, Inc, Mazda Motor of America, Inc. and Mazda North American Operations.