Digging For Savings, Mazda Cuts Its Roots
Mazda is not doing too well. Stuck with most of its production in high-yen Japan, woefully underrepresented in emerging markets and without the scale necessary for long term success, Mazda is expected to announce a 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) loss for the fiscal year that ends this March. Mazda has three options for survival: Pray, bet on Skyactiv, and save wherever you can. In the save wherever you can department, Mazda says sayonara to commercial vehicles.
Mazda decided to end development and production of commercial vehicles, says The Nikkei [sub]. According to the report, development will end with current models, production will end in the second half of the decade. Mazda debuted its Bongo small van in 1966. It became a small hit in the travel and construction business, mostly in Japan. The Bongo was exported in small numbers, a rebadged Bongo was sold as a Ford Freda. In recent years, production was down to 20,000 units a year.
Scratching development will save Mazda the approximately $120 million a new generation Bongo would cost to develop. Mazda already sells trucks made by Isuzu, vans made by Nissan, and kei vans made by Suzuki.
On Thursday, Mazda had announced that it will drastically slash hirings.
To end own development of vans must not have come easy at Mazda. Mazda’s first product was a three-wheeled trucklet, the Mazda-go, launched in 1931.
PS: The all-knowing Wikipedia killed the Bongo more than 10 years ago by writing:
“The Mazda Bongo, also known as Mazda E-Series and Mazda Access, was a van manufactured by Japanese automaker Mazda from 1978 to 2001.”
It isn’t dead yet.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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If Ford won't bring the new Ranger Whay is mazda waiting for with the BT-50 Truck? If you bring it they (TTAC B&B) will come. As long as it's used.
Yeah the RX8 was a great car that for its intended market had the wrong engine. The engine was put in a car that had appeal as a daily driver. When people drove the engine like a daily driver, the engine developed problems. Not only that, Mazda was recommending too thin of engine oil to meet emission standards; that same thin oil is the reason the engines failed and the warranty was needed. I worked at Mazda dealer for 1 summer and every mechanic who saw a girl bring in an automatic RX8, they made sure to drive the car hard for 5 minutes. It wasn’t for enjoyment but an effort to keep the engine healthy. Unless driven hard, those engines suffer. The rotary engine only belongs in a dedicated sports car like the RX7s of the past because no one is mistaking it as a daily driver nor driving it like a daily driver. The RX8 should have had something like the Japanese spec FS-DE engine. Anyone know if the RX8 community does I4 engine swaps?