Mazda Celebrates 50 Million Milestone
Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that cumulative production in Japan reached 50 million units on May 15, 2018. The 50 million-unit milestone was achieved 86 years and seven months after Mazda produced its first three-wheeled truck in October 1931.
Mazda New Zealand Managing Director David Hodge says to achieve the milestone is testament to the companies focus on innovation that has enabled it to continue to grow in an ever increasingly competitive global market
“You only need to look at the rotary engine, the MX-5 and more recently the Mazda SUV range to see why the company has such a long and proud history. The development of new and flexible production techniques including mixed production lines have also enabled it to adapt quickly to changes and remain competitive and that is set to continue well into the future.”
Moving forward, Mazda will continue to build a strong brand through a variety of initiatives. Plants in Hofu and Hiroshima will continue to evolve and act as parent factories, rapidly deploying their technologies and skills to our overseas plants.
Mazda began its journey as an automaker in 1931, when it started producing three-wheeled trucks in Hiroshima. In 1960 it commenced production of the R360 Coupe micro-mini, marking a bold entry into the passenger car market. This was followed in 1967 with the Mazda Cosmo – the first production vehicle to feature a rotary engine. Vehicle manufacture started at Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi in 1982, and domestic production duties have since been shared between the Hofu and Hiroshima Plants.
Mazda aims to sell 1,660,000 cars this fiscal year, which is the final year of its Structural Reform Stage 2 medium-term business plan. It is also establishing a global production framework capable of manufacturing two million units annually by fiscal year ending March 2024. Mass-production of vehicles featuring next-generation technologies and design is slated to start in 2019, and the company will continue expanding its production framework in an effort to get cars to customers as quickly as possible.
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