In its most recent Light Duty Fuel Economy Trends Report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited Mazda Motor Corp. as the most fuel efficient auto manufacturer in the country with the highest fleet wide adjusted fuel economy performance of 27.1 miles per gallon and the lowest CO2 emissions of 328 g/mi for the 2012 model year.
“During the most challenging times, we decided to continue investing heavily in our next generation of products, which we call SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY,” said Jim O’Sullivan, president & CEO, Mazda North American Operations.
SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, according to Mazda, is “a suite of component and engineering technologies that incorporate ultra high compression ratio gasoline engines, super efficient manual and automatic transmissions, lightweight chassis and body components, reduced rolling resistance and low drag body styling.”
Although the Japanese car maker does not yet offer an electric or hybrid vehicle, Mazda has emerged as an energy efficient company by continuously pushing the limits of its technology. That commitment has reaped dividends in a very challenging North American market.
“Our momentum is due to a lot of the things that we have worked on over the past four to five years. Our plan is to attain 300,000 units within the United States, which will be a very good increase year over year. We will continue that momentum into the next fiscal year,” O’Sullivan stressed.
While the U.S. auto industry has endured several difficult years, Mazda North American Operations is very optimistic over the sector’s imminent recovery.
“The U.S. auto industry has continued to recover from its low point. We as a company are participating in that growth, even outpacing it a little bit in many markets,” said O’Sullivan.
“During the most challenging times, we decided to continue investing heavily in our next generation of products, which we call SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY”
– Jim O’Sullivan, president & CEO, Mazda North American Operations
With market share growing across North America and demand rising across its territory, a recently opened manufacturing and assembly plant in Mexico will help propel the company’s sales to record highs and consolidate the importance of the American market to Mazda’s global operations.
“One of the key growth markets that the company has globally is North America, which is primarily driven by the United States. Even though we have been here for over 40 years selling and distributing Mazda products, we still see that there is further growth potential in this market. This is one of the reasons we are investing in the manufacturing facility and a dedicated assembly plant in Salamanca, Mexico,” explained O’Sullivan.
As Mazda’s sixth generation models, namely the all new CX-5, Mazda6 and Mazda3, continue to gather accolades and gain market share, Mazda North American Operations is looking forward to its future in North America.
“As a company, we see tremendous room for growth for Mazda in North America, specifically within the U.S. We see the auto industry continuing to recover. We have been here for well over 40 years, and we plan on being here for well over another 40. Obviously, there have been brands that have come and gone in this marketplace, but we have remained and continued to grow and meet our commitments to our colleagues in Mazda Corporation,” said O’Sullivan.
– Originally prepared by Global Media for The Japan Times Special Report on Los Angeles 2014 (Credit: Philippe Le Saux)
