[Masamichi Kogai, Representative Director and President and CEO]

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to join Mazda's press conference today.

Our theme for the Tokyo Motor Show this year is "Mazda defies convention to keep fun-to-drive alive." Our current advertising campaign in Japan won't be familiar to some of you from overseas, but we are using the words, "Be a driver." as our slogan. This campaign was launched in May of this year along with our manifesto.

Mazda will never make boring cars. The only cars worth making are those that are fun to drive. By making exciting cars, Mazda intends to be the "driver" powering the spread of driving pleasure all over the world.
In this way, Mazda cars will become an irreplaceable and enriching presence in the lives of our customers. We aim to become a brand which creates such a strong bond with customers.

Let me tell you about the vehicles we have on display here. The design concept for these cars is KODO - Soul of Motion. These designs were inspired by the image of a wild cheetah, which is why they express such a dynamic and powerful life-force. This beautiful red body with deep shading is called Soul Red. Both KODO and Soul Red were introduced along with Mazda's new generation of vehicles.
All the vehicles here today feature our SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. With SKYACTIV we made vast improvements not only to the engines, but also transmissions, body, chassis; all the essential components that dictate a vehicles performance. We did this in order to deliver on our promise of providing all our customers with outstanding safety and environmental performance, while refusing to compromise on the driving pleasure that has become the trademark of Mazda vehicles. At the same time as developing SKYACTIV technologies, we undertook a major overhaul of our manufacturing techniques and processes. We call this Monotsukuri Innovation, and the results are improved product quality and lower costs.

So, our new-generation products are innovative not only in the way they look, but also in the way they are made, and especially in the way they perform. We brought the CX-5 to market first, followed by the Mazda6 (Atenza). What you see on the stage here today is the new Mazda3, completely redesigned to become our third new-generation model. The Mazda3 is our biggest seller, accounting for about 30% of our total sales volume. This car is critically important to Mazda and for the new model we are aiming for global sales of 500,000 units.

We made this car to respond to the needs of a wide variety of people all around the world. For that reason we are offering it with a wide variety of power sources. In addition to the gasoline engine line-up which features a new 1.5-liter model, it's available with the SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine. And in the Japanese market it available with a newly-developed hybrid powertrain called SKYACTIV-HYBRID. Regardless of which engine you choose, you're going to get fantastic fuel economy without sacrificing driving performance.

In terms of safety, the Mazda3 offers real improvements. In addition to i-ACTIVESENSE technologies which can help you drive more safely, the car has been designed to offer a wider field of vision, the layout of cabin, positioning of the engine and front wheels have been optimized to offer a driving position that makes it easy to operate the car and prevents the driver from tiring easily. And the new HMI allows for the safe reading and control of Mazda CONNECT.

Also on display today is the Mazda3 SKYACTIV-CNG. Mazda offers this dual-fuel concept model, capable of burning both gasoline and CNG as a "multi-solution," responding to diversifying fuel types to meet the wide ranging needs of drivers all over the world. There is growing interest in natural gas due to development of shale gas reserves in North America and the ever-present need to reduce our CO2 emissions. The SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine achieves its balance of power and efficiency through a very high compression ratio. And because CNG is burnt at high pressure, it is relatively easy to modify the base engine for this fuel, or for both CNG and gasoline. We will push forward developing this concept with the aim of cutting emissions while continuing to deliver our promise of driving pleasure.

We started taking pre-sale orders for the new Mazda3 in Japan on October 10. Our monthly sales target is 3,000 units, but in just over one month we have received more than 10,000 orders. The number one reason people are buying the car is the stylish design, but a lot of customers are also telling us that the new connectivity system Mazda CONNECT was the deciding factor for them. We've also been delighted to hear that we are getting more first-time Mazda buyers than we anticipated. To everyone who has placed an order, let me say thank you. Sales begin tomorrow so your long wait is nearly over.

Production of the Mazda3 won't be confined to our Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi prefecture. It will also be produced at our new plant in Mexico, our plant in Thailand and also at Nanjing in China, in order to increase our overseas production volume and spread our "Monotsukuri" manufacturing innovations globally.

I had the opportunity to visit our new Mexican plant last month. The construction phase has been completed and employee training is proceeding according to schedule. I even had a chance to drive one of their test vehicles and there is no doubt in my mind that it could hold its own against a Hofu-built car. It was extremely well-made and I am firmly convinced that Mexico will become a key overseas production base. Preparations for the operation start in January next year are progressing very smoothly.

Mazda wants to "Be a driver" powering the spread of driving pleasure all over the world.
Following on the heels of the CX-5 and Mazda6 (Atenza), this new Mazda3 is the third of our new generation of models. But Mazda's new era of growth is only just beginning. Between now and March 2016 we will bring out another five new-generation models. For now, all I can tell you is that all of these models will offer Mazda's trademark "fun-to-drive" driving pleasure, and I look forward to seeing you all at their unveilings sometime in the future.

Thank you.