’VERISA’—A New Compact Car From Mazda

- Ayako Kawahara and Rowland Kirishima to support new Mazda launch -

Mazda Motor Corporation today announced the name of a new compact car—Mazda Verisa. Powered by a 1.5-liter engine, Mazda Verisa is scheduled to go on sale in Japan during the summer of 2004.

The name “Verisa” has been created by combining two words: the Italian word ’verita’ (which means “truth”) and the English word ’satisfaction’ (meaning “true fulfillment”). Verisa expresses an ideal relation between people with an uncompromising sense of style and the products that satisfy them.

Developed under the theme of “simple, quality and compact” the Mazda Verisa will target a wide range of age groups when it is introduced into the Japanese market this summer, but will primarily speak to couples in their 30s who seek high quality in their life and have their own set of style and values. The new Verisa is designed to accentuate Mazda’s capabilities in the areas of craftsmanship and clever detail work, as well as further the evolution of the company’s Zoom-Zoom DNA, which is well embodied in its new-generation products: Atenza, Demio, RX-8 and Axela.

In addition to confirming the product name, Mazda also announced that actress Ayako Kawahara and photographer Rowland Kirishima will be supporting the Verisa’s launch. Ayako Kawahara has been active in various fields including TV and films, while Rowland Kirishima is a versatile photographer focusing on fashion and portraits. The ideal match of the style and image of these two well-known celebrities and the Verisa concept is the reason Mazda selected them.

Mazda will commence a number of marketing and communication activities with the underlying theme of “Gallery” to support the Verisa launch. These activities will portray the design and details of the vehicle as artwork during the pre-sale phase of the launch. “Mazda Verisa Gallery”—a product launch event—is for example scheduled to open in Tokyo in late July 2004. Miss Kawahara and Mr. Kirishima, who support a concept of the vehicle and “Mazda Verisa Gallery,” are scheduled to take part in artistic activities focused on the Verisa concept.

In launching the new Verisa, Mazda will emphasize the high-level of equipment available as standard on the vehicle, including an advanced keyless entry system, which allows the owner to lock/unlock the door using a card key. In addition, various manufacturer-installed options are available, including a 20GB, built-in hard disk (HDD) music system that can store more than 3,000 songs recorded from CDs. The special-edition Verisa model with 100 songs pre-installed on the HDD music system will be provided in the early-launch campaign.

Mazda also opened an exclusive Verisa website (http://www.verisa.mazda.co.jp) today to kick-off the launch program. The new website includes a give-away campaign featuring the “Verisa Photo Book.” This unique photo book has been specially produced by Rowland Kirishima and five other whiz-kid photographers— Kenji Fujima, MOTOKO, ZIGEN, Jin Ohashi and Haruhi Fujii —and will be awarded to 50,000 visitors.

PROFILE
Ayako Kawahara
In 1989, she debuted as an actress in the film “Kitchen,” and then started her modeling career at the Paris Collection in 1990. In her modeling career, she gained many opportunities in the international scene, including Paris, Milan. While being active as TV/movie actress, she is currently extending her activities into various fields such as publishing a photo essay.

Rowland Kirishima
Graduating from New York University’s photography department, he started his career as a freelance photo director in New York. Based in Tokyo since 1993, he has been actively producing excellent works in the area of fashion and portraits for magazines, advertisements, CD jackets, TV commercials, promotion videos. His achievements include winning of the 2003 MTV Best R&B VIDEO award.