The History Mazda Motor Corporation

The Perseverance of the Ghost and the Gecko

The Will of Hiroshima

In the pantheon of global automotive manufacturers, few companies possess a narrative as compelling, as technically ambitious, and as stubbornly resilient as Mazda Motor Corporation. Founded in Japan but embraced with fervent loyalty by American enthusiasts, Mazda’s history is not merely a chronicle of assembly lines and sales figures. It is the story of a company that repeatedly flirted with bankruptcy, survived the atomic bomb, and stubbornly insisted on perfecting an engine technology the rest of the industry deemed impossible. From the dusty plains of Le Mans to the suburbs of California, Mazda stands as a testament to the concept of Kaizen (continuous improvement) mixed with a daring spirit of experimentation that sets it apart from the conservative giants of Toyota and Honda.

This is the story of Mazda, the company that dared to be different.

Origins and the Founding Father (1920–1930)

The roots of Mazda do not lie in the automotive industry, but in the cork industry. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., a cork manufacturing firm in Hiroshima, Japan. The company struggled until 1927, when a 30-year-old entrepreneur named Jujiro Matsuda took over the helm.

Matsuda was a man of immense industrial vision. Having studied engineering and forged iron works in his youth, he saw that the demand for cork was waning, while the demand for motor vehicles was rising. By the late 1920s, Matsuda had shifted the company’s focus to machinery, manufacturing machine tools for the burgeoning Japanese industry.

The pivotal moment came in 1931. Toyo Cork Kogyo developed its first motorized vehicle: the Mazda-Go, a three-wheeled pickup truck. It was a utilitarian machine, essentially a motorcycle with a cargo bed, but it sold well. The name “Mazda” is a direct homage to the company’s founder, Jujiro Matsuda. In Japanese, “Matsuda” (松田) can be phonetically broken down into “Matsu” (pine) and “Da” (rice paddy), but it was also associated with Ahura Mazda, the ancient Zoroastrian god of wisdom, intelligence, and harmony. This fusion of the founder’s name and a deity of light established a brand identity centered on illumination and progress.

War, Devastation, and the Pivot to Trucks (1930–1960)

Before the devastation of World War II, the company began producing three-wheeled trucks and even experimented with a four-wheeled passenger car prototype called the Mazda Go in 1940. However, the war effort forced the factory to convert to military production, manufacturing the Type 97 rifle and the “Mazda Army” three-wheeled vehicle for the Imperial Japanese Army.

On August 6, 1945, the company’s headquarters and main factory in Hiroshima were located less than two miles from the atomic bomb’s hypocenter. The factory was devastated; roughly 80% of the facility was destroyed, and many employees were killed or injured. Yet, the will to survive was palpatable. Under the leadership of Matsuda, production resumed within a month, using salvaged machinery to produce food packing containers and cotton spinning machinery to help the recovering economy.

By 1950, the company incorporated as Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd., and returned to vehicle manufacturing with the Mazda T1500 truck. The 1950s were a period of stabilization, but the company was still small, overshadowed by giants like Toyota and Nissan. To survive, they needed a passenger car.

The Wankel Revolution and the Cosmo (1960–1970)

In 1960, Mazda released its first true passenger car: the Mazda R360 Coupe. It was a tiny “Kei car” intended to take advantage of tax breaks in Japan. However, the defining moment of the company’s technical history occurred in the early 1960s.

While other Japanese manufacturers were copying American and European designs, Mazda bet the entire company on a radical, unproven engine technology: the rotary engine. Invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, the rotary engine had fewer moving parts and offered high power output for its size, but it was notoriously difficult to seal and prone to high fuel consumption and reliability issues.

Many competitors, including Toyota, dismissed the rotary. But Jujiro Matsuda, obsessed with the challenge, poured massive resources into perfecting the “Katayama rotary engine.” In 1967, Mazda launched the Mazda Cosmo Sport (L10B). It was the world’s first mass-produced car with a twin-rotor rotary engine. The Cosmo was a smash hit in Japan and proved that Mazda had mastered the technology.

The 1970s Oil Crisis: A Test of Mettle (1973–1979)

The rotary engine was Mazda’s signature, but it almost became its undoing. In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) instituted an oil embargo, causing fuel prices to skyrocket globally. The rotary engine, which relied on a fuel-intensive combustion process, was suddenly an albatross. Mazda’s reputation was built on the rotary (exemplified by the legendary Mazda RX-7 in 1978), but the market demand for fuel-guzzlers evaporated.

Sales in the US plummeted by over 60% between 1973 and 1975. The company was on the brink of bankruptcy. To resolve this crisis, Mazda did something counter-intuitive: they invested in the rotary engine anyway to ensure it could meet strict emissions standards (the Clean Air Act), but they also desperately needed an economical engine to keep the company afloat.

They reached out to Porsche, who was also struggling with the oil crisis. Porsche was developing a line of fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines. Mazda purchased the tooling and designs for the Porsche 928 engine, modifying it to create the “Piston Rotary” (though eventually, Mazda focused on conventional piston engines). More importantly, they leaned heavily into the sale of the Mazda 808 and the GLC (Grand Luxury Compact), which offered Japanese reliability at a time when American consumers were fleeing the poor quality of domestic American cars.

The Ford Alliance and the Rise of the Miata (1979–1995)

To survive the financial turmoil, Mazda sought a partner. In 1979, Ford Motor Company, under CEO Philip Caldwell, purchased a 25% stake in Toyo Kogyo (later increased to 33.4%). This partnership saved Mazda. It provided capital and access to Ford’s global distribution networks.

The 1980s marked Mazda’s golden era in the United States. The company rebranded from “Toyo Kogyo” to “Mazda Motor Corporation” in 1984. They opened a new assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, in 1987 (the AutoAlliance International plant), bringing production to American soil.

However, the most significant milestone of this era occurred in 1989: the launch of the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Designed by a team led by Kenichi Yamamoto and Bob Hall, the Miata was a response to the British roadsters of the 1960s—but with Japanese reliability. It was lightweight, rear-wheel drive, and affordable.

At the time, sports cars were either expensive exotics or heavy American muscle cars. The Miata democratized driving fun. It became an instant classic and single-handedly revived the affordable convertible market. To this day, it holds the Guinness World Record as the best-selling two-seat convertible in history.

The Crisis of the Late 1990s (1995–2008)

The late 1990s brought new struggles. The “bubble economy” in Japan burst, and the Asian financial crisis hit. Mazda had expanded too quickly, producing niche vehicles like the MX-3, MX-6, and the Eunos Cosmo, which fractured their brand identity and drained resources. By 1999, Mazda was posting significant losses.

The company’s struggle was rooted in an identity crisis: were they a manufacturer of quirky rotary cars, or reliable sedans? The rotary engine RX-7 was gone from the US market due to emissions regulations, and its successor, the Mazda RX-8, was still years away.

Ford stepped in again. In 1996, Ford increased its controlling stake to 33.4%. In 2008, Ford, needing to shore up its own balance sheet during the global financial crisis, sold off most of its controlling interest in Mazda. This was a “divorce” that allowed Mazda to stand on its own two feet again, though the two companies maintained a collaborative relationship on manufacturing.

The Zoom-Zoom Era and the SkyActiv Revolution (2009–Present)

Under the leadership of CEO Masamichi Kogai, Mazda entered a new era in the early 2010s. While other manufacturers scrambled to produce electric vehicles (EVs) or relied on dated platforms, Mazda invested billions into reinventing the internal combustion engine.

This resulted in the “SkyActiv” technology. Mazda engineers did the unthinkable: they increased compression ratios in gasoline engines to levels usually reserved for diesel engines. They stripped out sound deadening materials to reduce weight and improve handling. They overhauled transmissions and chassis architecture.

The result was a lineup of vehicles (the Mazda3, Mazda6, and Mazda CX-5) that were critically acclaimed for driving dynamics that usually belonged to luxury brands like BMW. While competitors softened their steering and focused on numb comfort, Mazda doubled down on “Jinba Ittai”—a horse and rider as one—focusing on the connection between the driver and the road.

What Makes Mazda Different?

In a sea of sameness, Mazda is the outlier. While Toyota and Honda rely on overwhelming scale and conservative engineering to achieve reliability, Mazda relies on passion and innovation.

1. The Rotary Legacy: Even though they paused rotary production for mainstream cars, the fact that they were the only manufacturer to make rotary engines a mass-market staple for decades defines their engineering DNA.
2. Nagare Design: In the mid-2000s, Mazda introduced the “Nagare” (flow) design language, using sweeping lines to manage airflow over the car body for aerodynamic efficiency, something that was visually distinct from the slab-sided designs of competitors.
3. Human-Centric Design: Mazda philosophy prioritizes the driver’s sensory experience—the placement of the pedals, the feedback through the steering wheel, and the sightlines over the hood. They call this “Jinba Ittai.”

Milestones and Racing Heritage

Mazda is a giant in the world of motorsports. In 1991, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mazda 787B, powered by the 26B four-rotor engine, became the first and only Japanese car to win the legendary endurance race. It remains one of the most celebrated achievements in racing history. The distinctive scream of the rotary engine at high RPMs became the sound of victory.

In recent years, Mazda has dominated the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with the Mazda DPi prototype winning the championship in 2020.

Factory Operations

Mazda operates globally, with a strong focus on “build where you sell.” In the United States, their primary hub is the AutoAlliance International (AAI) plant in Flat Rock, Michigan (capacity: ~150,000 units/year). They also utilize a new $2 billion plant in Huntsville, Alabama (jointly with Toyota), which began production in 2021.

In Japan, they operate the Hiroshima Plant and the Hofu Plant. A key differentiator in Mazda’s factory operations is the “Single Minute Exchange of Die” (SMED) methodology, refined to an art form, allowing for flexible manufacturing that can switch between different vehicle models on the same line with minimal downtime.

Marketing and Major Events

Mazda’s marketing has always been about emotion.

• “Zoom-Zoom” (2000–2015): This slogan was inspired by the sound children make when playing with toy cars. It encapsulated the joy of driving.
• “The Drive Matters” (2015–Present): This campaign highlighted that the car you drive shapes your mood and perspective. They famously sponsored a “Happy Driving” study to prove that driving a Mazda reduced cortisol (stress) levels compared to driving competitors.

In 2018, the company launched the Mazda MX-30 at the Tokyo Motor Show, their first electric vehicle, featuring “freestyle doors” (suicide doors) and a sustainable interior made from cork and recycled plastics, signaling a pivot toward sustainability while maintaining their quirky style.

U.S. Consumer Reception

For the average American consumer in the 1970s and 80s, Mazda was the “poor man’s BMW.” It offered sportier handling than a Toyota Corolla but was more reliable than a British sports car.

Today, the reception has shifted upward. Mazda is often referred to as “The Poor Man’s Lexus” or “The Japanese BMW.” In 2020, the CX-5 achieved the highest resale value in its class according to ALG. Consumer Reports consistently ranks Mazda near the top for reliability and owner satisfaction. The U.S. market has embraced the brand’s move upmarket, with the CX-5 and Mazda CX-9 finding success in the competitive crossover segments against luxury brands like Audi and Acura.

Sales Figures: The First and the Latest

• First Vehicle Produced (1931): The Mazda-Go (Three-wheeled truck).
  • U.S. Sales: Not sold in the U.S.
• Latest Major Vehicle (2024): The Mazda CX-90 (The brand’s largest and most premium three-row SUV).
  • U.S. Sales: Approximately 32,000 units in its debut year (2023/2024).
  • Global Sales: Part of Mazda’s total global sales of roughly 1.2 million vehicles (2023).

The Single Most Popular Vehicle: The Mazda CX-5

While the Miata is the icon, the Mazda CX-5 is the savior. Introduced in 2012, this compact crossover saved the company financially. It was the first vehicle to fully implement the “Kodo” design language and SkyActiv technology.

• Why it was popular: It looked better than a RAV4 or CR-V and drove significantly better. It offered upscale interiors at mainstream prices.
• U.S. Sales: Since its launch, the CX-5 has sold over 1 million units in the US alone. In peak years (2017–2019), it sold over 150,000 units annually in the US.
• Global Sales: Over 3 million units globally.

Current Status and Outlook

Mazda is very much alive and fighting. They are currently navigating the treacherous transition to electrification. In 2023, they announced a massive $12 billion investment in electrification, aiming for 25-40% of global sales to be EVs by 2030.

They have faced struggles with semiconductor shortages (like the rest of the industry) and adjusting to a post-COVID supply chain. However, their outlook is stable. By sticking to their philosophy of making cars that spark emotion, they have carved out a profitable niche.

Mazda is not the biggest car company, and they likely never will be. But by surviving the bomb, mastering the rotary, and reinventing the engine, they have earned the respect of the American consumer. As long as there are drivers who crave a connection to the road, Mazda will continue to Zoom.