Mazda Rolls Out New Wagon For the Japanese Market
May 09, 2011
TOKYO -- Mazda Motor Corp. rolled out a small, low-priced, recreational wagon called the Demio for the Japanese market, taking only 15 months and $90 million to develop and launch the vehicle. The speed and cost efficiency of the launch -- which ranks among the world's fastest development times -- demonstrates the core Mazda strengths that spurred Ford Motor Co. to buy a controlling stake in Mazda last spring. Helping speed development was the use of roughly 60% of parts from other existing models. But restrictions on the model's marketing world-wide also show how Ford is moving to limit competition from its now 33%-owned affiliate. The vehicle's versatility might have made it popular in Europe, where streets are cramped. But Mazda's director of engineering, Stefan Keener, says it won't be sold in Europe because doing so might hurt sales of the Ford-designed Mazda 121 compact car. Mazda deemed the Demio too small for the U.S. market. Mazda plans to export the vehicle to other Asian markets, but the biggest hopes for the boxy, wagon-like sedan are in Japan. Mazda plans to sell 4,000 vehicles a month in Japan, a boost that it sorely needs to help its flagging performance in the domestic market. Mazda developed the car with help from Ford, which dispatched several key executives to work at Mazda's headquarters in Hiroshima about two years ago. They insisted that Mazda do market research on the proposed models, something rarely done at Mazda though common in the U.S.
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