Foundation: 1920
Headquarters: Fuchu, Hiroshima
President: Akira Marumoto
Executive Summary: Mazda Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automaker. It was founded in 1920 as a cork manufacturing company. In 1931, the company manufactured its first vehicle, the Mazda-Go, a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw. Plans to develop more sophisticated vehicles were suspended during the Pacific War, when the company instead produced weapons for the Japanese military. After the war, the firm returned to vehicles, and, by the 1950s, it produced four-wheeled trucks. In the next decade, it launched the R360, its first passenger coupé. During this time, Mazda began building its own versions of a rotary engine, an alternative to the industry-standard reciprocating piston engine. Its rotary engines were first deployed in its 1967 Cosmo Sport coupé. In 1973, the oil crisis put a great strain on Mazda’s finances, with its rotary engine vehicles being seen as much less fuel efficient. Sumitomo and Ford Motor Company stepped in to keep Mazda afloat in this difficult period; the latter purchased a 25% stake of Mazda in 1979. Ford’s stake increased to a controlling interest in the 1990s as the Asian Financial Crisis again battered the Japanese automaker. In 2008, however, Ford reduced its stake and eventually let the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group become the largest shareholder. By 2016, Ford had sold all of its remaining shares. Mazda’s lightweight, small sports cars have been popular, especially the MX-5 Miata, or Roadster. Its forays into motorsports have been legendary, being the first Japanese company to win the 1991 Le Mans endurance race. Mazda’s annual income is in the range of US$30 billion.
