Mazda Motor Corporation is a car manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan. Mazda is the 15th largest car maker in the world, and 12th largest in U.S. sales. The company was started in 1920. Today it has about 44,000 employees. Sales are 2,057,614,000,000 yen.
History
In 1920, Toyo Koruku Kogyo was established. In 1984, it changed its name to Mazda. The company is unique in using rotary engines in some of its cars. A rotary engine has more power for its weight than ordinary engines. In 1991, the Mazda 787B (which had a rotary engine) won the 24 Heures du LeMans. From 1979 to 2010, Mazda had a partnership with Ford Motor Company. At one point, Ford owned 1/3 of Mazda's stock. Since 2000, Mazda has grown, especially in Europe and North America, and it is now completely separate from Ford. In 2015, Mazda and Toyota agreed to work together.
Brand
Mazda produces cars only in Japan and Mexico, but 80% of its sales are outside of Japan. Mazda is the only company that produces cars which have rotary engines (but most of its cars do not have rotary engines). The cars are popular in Australia and Europe, especially Germany and U.K. Nowadays, Mazda's slogan is ZOOM-ZOOM. It is famous for the movie Only Strong. ZOOM-ZOOM comes from English-speaking children calling cars ZOOM-ZOOM.
Name
Mazda's company name is derived from Matsuda Jujirou who was the founder of this company, and the Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda is a symbol of wisdom, reason, and harmony.