Japanese Car Production: Mazda

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Japanese Car Production: Mazda


Toyo Kogyo was another example of the fact that if you were not the leader, then you had to specialise and innovate. Around 1960, Mazda (Toyo Kogyo) became interested in the rotary engine with its low pollution qualities and became the only company in the world to produce rotary-engined cars in volume.

Unfortunately, the 1973 fuel crisis hit the firm hard because of the rotary's excessive thirst. For a time, there was a danger of bankruptcy, but Mazda stepped back from the brink by cutting rotary-engined models to only 10 per cent of their production. The company has since prospered, and by 1980 Ford had taken up a 25 per cent share. Production in 1979 was 647,000 vehicles.

Origins:

Cork factory (1920), firm changed name in 1927, becoming Toyo Kogyo; motorcycle production (1930), soon halted, three-wheeler vans made, 1931; attempt to produce light cars (1940); production resumed 1950 with vans, first light car produced 1960.

Milestones:

First mass-production model: Mazda R360 (1960).
First model exported to Europe: Mazda 1000 Coupe and Mazda 1600/1800, (1966).
First model exported to USA: Mazda 1000 Coupe and Mazda 1600/1800, (1966).
Model most sold abroad: 323/9LC (Familia) - 222,306 units exported (1979).
Number of employees (as at 1979): 28,000.
Position among Japanese Manufacturers (as at 1979): 4th (10.4 per cent of home market).
Position among manufacturers/exporters (as at 1979): 4th (14 per cent).
Position among World manufacturers (as at 1979): 10th.
Car assembly plants abroad (as at 1979): Korea, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ghana, Indonesia, Trinidad, Thailand, Costa Rica, Greece, Portugal, Ireland.
Number of cars assembled abroad in 1979: 34,100.
Associates (as at 1979): Ford Motor Company held 25 per cent of the capital of Toyo Kogyo.
Group products (as at 1979): Cars, vans, trucks, buses, machine tools, stampings, drills, moulding sand.
Range (as at 1979): Mazda 121 (two models), Mazda 929 (three models), Mazda 626 (two models), Mazda 323 (three models), Mazda RX-7.

Mazda Car Production 1958 - 1979
Year
Production
Exportation
23,417
-
31,758
361
41,882
434
53,980
1,031
60,957
3,446
81,434
4,416
92,143
8,606
129,051
21,171
178,115
37,944
201,133
62,324
224,520
86,016
300,980
143,905
379,073
272,166
465,734
327,684
378,954
367,263
387,145
328,598
446,618
395,862
498,691
502,030
493,111
499,956
683,101
608,366
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