MAZDA

MAZDA 100TH ANNIVERSARY

100 Years Timeline
Chapter 5
Capital tie-up with Ford - Promotion of international business
Following two oil crises, compact cars that helped save resources gained an economical advantage over competitors and boomed worldwide. Japanese cars in particular started to gain attention, offering high quality for accessible prices. At this point, Toyo Kogyo took a leap; the company launched a capital alliance with Ford, with whom Toyo Kogyo had strengthened ties through the supply of compact pickup trucks. Taking this opportunity, Toyo Kogyo expanded the range of items supplied to Ford to include transmission units and compact passenger vehicles. The rapid increase of exports due to compact vehicle’s boom resulted in Toyo Kogyo’s annual vehicle production volume to exceed one million units. In 1982, the company established their second major plant in Japan in Hofu, Yamaguchi, as part of their national production base. To pace with this favorable change in the business environment, Toyo Kogyo overhauled the drive system to a front wheel drive system for its better space efficiency for some of its main products, notably, Famila and Capella, known overseas as Mazda 323 and 626 respectively. Both models were highly evaluated for their fun-to-drive nature and well-balanced performance, and went on to win Car of the Year Japan. In 1984, the company name was changed to Mazda Motor Corporation to integrate the brand name with the company name.
1979
Feb.
RX-7 wins GTU class at 24 Hours of Daytona
Jun.
Cumulative production of vehicles reaches 10 million units
Starts supplying commercial vehicles to Ford Asia Pacific, notably Econovan and Ford Trader
Nov.
Enters a capital tie-up with Ford Motor Company, which acquired a 25% equity interest in Mazda
Dec.
Annual production volume of automobiles exceeds 1 million units
1980
May
Starts supplying Ford with manual transmission for passenger vehicles (MTX)
Jun.
Starts sale of fifth generation Mazda 323/GLC (Familia in Japan) hatchback adopting front engine - front wheel drive layout
Sep.
Starts sale of fifth generation Mazda 323/GLC (Familia in Japan) saloon
Starts supplying Ford Asia Pacific with passenger vehicle "Laser"
Oct.
Starts sale of third generation T-series (Titan in Japan), first of its class to adopt Two-way shift (sub-transmission)
Dec.
Fifth generation Mazda Familia (known as Mazda 323/GLC outside Japan) wins Car of the Year Japan
1981
Apr.
Establishes Mazda North America (MANA)
Establishes European Office
Jul.
Mazda RX-7 wins the 24 Hours of Spa at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, claiming the first ever victory for a Japanese automobile at the event
Sep.
Starts sale of third generation Mazda 929 (Cosmo in Japan)
Oct.
Starts sale of fourth generation Mazda 929 (Luce in Japan)
Dec.
Starts operations at Hofu Transmission Plant in Nakanoseki district
Establishes Ford's sales channel, Autorama
1982
Jan.
Starts sale of second generation T2000/3000 bus (Parkway in Japan)
Starts supplying Ford with automatic transmission for passenger vehicles
Feb.
Production volume of precision internal grinding machines reaches 5,000 units
Jun.
Mazda RX-7 254 completes the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance race for the first time, ranking 14th
Jul.
Cumulative production of fifth generation 323/GLC (Familia in Japan) reaches 1 million units in record-breaking 27 months for front engine - front wheel drive vehicle production
Starts supplying Ford with diesel engines for commercial vehicles
Sep.
Full-fledged production begins at the Hofu Plant (Nishinoura district)
Starts sale of fourth generation Mazda 626 (Capella in Japan), adopting front engine - front wheel drive layout
Oct.
Starts supplying Autorama with passenger vehicles, notably the Laser and the Telstar
Dec.
Mazda Capella/Ford Telstar wins Car of the Year Japan
1983
Apr.
Starts local production at CCA in Colombia
Jun.
Starts sale of Bongo Brawny van and wagon, 1t commercial vehicles
Sep.
Starts sale of third-generation E-series (Bongo in Japan) van and wagon
Makes an investment in Korean manufacturer, Kia Motors
Oct.
Completion of a wind tunnel testing laboratory exclusively for automobiles in Miyoshi Proving Ground
Dec.
Establishes new corporate philosophy: Mazda creates new value and spreads joy
1984
Jan.
Starts sale of third-generation E-series (Bongo in Japan) truck
Starts sale of Bongo Brawny truck with 1.5t loading capacity
Feb.
Announces plans of holding sociocultural events to commemorate new company name
May
Company is renamed to Mazda Motor Corporation
Nov.
Addition of first AWD model in the E-series lineup (Bongo wagon and van in Japan)
Kenichi Yamamoto becomes the sixth president
Decided to build a passenger vehicle plant in Flat Rock, Michigan