Mazda Marks its 100th Anniversary
Mazda Motor Corporation celebrated its 100th anniversary of its founding on January 30, 2020.
Centenary official comment by Akira Marumoto, Representative Director, President and CEO: “Mazda originated as a company producing cork and then took the path to manufacturing automobiles. Now, our cars have found friends with many customers from over 130 countries and regions. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the customers, dealers, suppliers, business partners and the local community, who have supported us over the years through good and bad times, to whom we owe our 100 years of existence. As we look ahead to the next 100 years, we will continue to put people first and cherish our ‘uniqueness of co-creating with others.’ As we strengthen co-creation and cooperation with all those connected with the company, we will continue to challenge ourselves to create unique products, technologies, and experiences that our customers love.”
Mazda plans to express our gratitude throughout the year taking part in Geneva International Motor Show in March, with centenary anniversary themed exhibits and during Mazda Open Day 2020, an open house event at Mazda’s headquarter from May 22 through 24, 2020.
A ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its foundation took place today at an auditorium in the company’s headquarters in Hiroshima to express appreciation to all stakeholders who supported the company and reaffirmed resolution for the next one hundred years of future. Approximately 500 people including executives, employees and representatives of workers’ union and affiliated companies attended the ceremony
| Year | History |
|---|---|
| 1920 | Toyo Cork Kogyo Co. Ltd. is founded |
| 1921 | Jujiro Matsuda becomes president |
| 1927 | Company becomes Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. |
| 1931 | Starts production of Mazda’s first automobile, the 3-wheeled truck, Mazda-go  |
| 1960 | Announces R360 Coupe, Mazda’s first four-wheel passenger vehicle |
| 1964 | Starts selling Mazda 800 sedan (known as Familia in Japan), a small passenger car |
| 1965 | Completes Miyoshi Proving Ground |
| 1966 | Completes a new plant Ujina Plant No.1 in Hiroshima |
| 1967 | Introduces 110S (known as Mazda Cosmo Sport in Japan), with rotary engine vehicle |
| 1971 | Mazda’s biggest distributor in the USA, Mazda Motor of America is established |
| 1975 | Introduction of CI system begins and corporate symbol is introduced |
| 1978 | Starts selling RX-7 (known as Savanna RX-7 in Japan)  |
| 1979 | Enters into a capital tie-up with Ford Motor Company (with shareholding ratio of 25% ) |
| 1980 | 5th generation Mazda Familia (known as Mazda GLC/323 outside Japan) wins Japan Car of the Year  |
| 1982 | Production begins at the Hofu Plant (Nishinoura district) |
| 1984 | Company is renamed to Mazda Motor Corporation |
| 1987 | Production of Mazda MX-6 begins at Mazda Motor Manufacturing (USA) Corporation (MMUC) |
| 1988 | Establishes European distributor, Mazda Motor Europe (MME) |
| 1989 | Introduces MX-5 (known as Eunos Roadster in Japan)  |
| 1991 | Mazda 787B wins the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance race, claiming the first victory for a Japanese automobile |
| 1996 | Ford’s ratio of Mazda’s shareholding increases from 25% to 33.4% |
| 1998 | Starts mass production of small pickup truck at AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) |
| 2002 | Starts selling Mazda6 (known as Atenza in Japan) that embodies Mazda’s new brand message, Zoom-Zoom |
| 2005 | Establishes Mazda’s China operations management office, Mazda Motor (Shanghai) Business Management & Consulting Co., Ltd. |
| 2008 | 3rd generation Mazda2 wins World Car of the Year award |
| 2012 | Launches Mazda CX-5, a new crossover SUV which adopts the full range of Skyactiv technologies and Kodo-Soul of Motion design theme |
| 2014 | Production of Mazda3 (known as Axela in Japan) begins at MMVO, a plant in Mexico |
| 2016 | 4th generation Mazda MX-5 (Mazda Roadster in Japan) wins World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year |
| 2017 | Toyota and Mazda sign an agreement to enter a business and capital alliance |
| 2019 | Starts selling Mazda3 |
| 2020 | Marks 100th anniversary of company’s foundation |
MAZDA 100th ANNIVERSARY website Take a journey through our 100 years of history, complemented by the launch of Mazda Virtual Museum. We also look forward to you sharing your own experiences with us via the entry form on the “with MAZDA STORIES” section of the website. URL: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
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