HIROSHIMA, Japan— Mazda Motor Corporation celebrated its 100th anniversary of its founding on January 30, 2020.

Centenary official comment by Akira Marumoto, Representative Director, President and CEO:
“Mazda originated as a company producing cork and then took the path to manufacturing automobiles. Now, our cars have found friends with many customers from over 130 countries and regions. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the customers, dealers, suppliers, business partners and the local community, who have supported us over the years through good and bad times, to whom we owe our 100 years of existence. As we look ahead to the next 100 years, we will continue to put people first and cherish our ‘uniqueness of co-creating with others.' As we strengthen co-creation and cooperation with all those connected with the company, we will continue to challenge ourselves to create unique products, technologies, and experiences that our customers love.”

Mazda plans to express our gratitude throughout the year taking part in Geneva International Motor Show in March, with centenary anniversary themed exhibits and during Mazda Open Day 2020, an open house event at Mazda's headquarter from May 22 through 24, 2020*.

• * Updates on June 19, 2020
  Due to the cancellation of Geneva International Motor Show, Mazda's exhibits were also canceled.
  Mazda Open Day 2020 event was canceled.
  Please visit the website for details: URL: https://newsroom.mazda.com/assets/100214/20200619E.pdf

A ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its foundation took place today at an auditorium in the company's headquarters in Hiroshima to express appreciation to all stakeholders who supported the company and reaffirmed resolution for the next one hundred years of future. Approximately 500 people including executives, employees and representatives of workers' union and affiliated companies attended the ceremony.

■Mazda's history

Year	History
1920	Toyo Cork Kogyo Co. Ltd. is founded
1921	Jujiro Matsuda becomes president
1927	Company becomes Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.
1931	Starts production of Mazda's first automobile, the 3-wheeled truck, Mazda-go
1960	Announces R360 Coupe, Mazda's first four-wheel passenger vehicle
1964	Starts selling Mazda 800 sedan (known as Familia in Japan), a small passenger car
1965	Completes Miyoshi Proving Ground
1966	Completes a new plant Ujina Plant No.1 in Hiroshima
1967	Introduces 110S (known as Mazda Cosmo Sport in Japan), with rotary engine vehicle
1971	Mazda's biggest distributor in the USA, Mazda Motor of America is established
1975	Introduction of CI system begins and corporate symbol is introduced
1978	Starts selling RX-7 (known as Savanna RX-7 in Japan)
1979	Enters into a capital tie-up with Ford Motor Company (with shareholding ratio of 25% )
1980	5th generation Mazda Familia (known as Mazda GLC/323 outside Japan) wins Japan Car of the Year
1982	Production begins at the Hofu Plant (Nishinoura district)
1984	Company is renamed to Mazda Motor Corporation
1987	Production of Mazda MX-6 begins at Mazda Motor Manufacturing (USA) Corporation (MMUC)
1988	Establishes European distributor, Mazda Motor Europe (MME)
1989	Introduces MX-5 (known as Eunos Roadster in Japan)
1991	Mazda 787B wins the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance race, claiming the first victory for a Japanese automobile
1996	Ford's ratio of Mazda's shareholding increases from 25% to 33.4%
1998	Starts mass production of small pickup truck at AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT)
2002	Starts selling Mazda6 (known as Atenza in Japan) that embodies Mazda's new brand message, Zoom-Zoom
2005	Establishes Mazda's China operations management office, Mazda Motor (Shanghai) Business Management & Consulting Co., Ltd.
2008	3rd generation Mazda2 wins World Car of the Year award
2012	Launches Mazda CX-5, a new crossover SUV which adopts the full range of Skyactiv technologies and Kodo-Soul of Motion design theme
2014	Production of Mazda3 (known as Axela in Japan) begins at MMVO, a plant in Mexico
2016	4th generation Mazda MX-5 (Mazda Roadster in Japan) wins World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year
2017	Toyota and Mazda sign an agreement to enter a business and capital alliance
2019	Starts selling Mazda3
2020	Marks 100th anniversary of company's foundation

■Note:

MAZDA 100th ANNIVERSARY website
Take a journey through our 100 years of history, complemented by the launch of Mazda Virtual Museum. We also look forward to you sharing your own experiences with us via the entry form on the “with MAZDA STORIES” section of the website.
URL: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/

MAZDA NEWSROOM
We launched the Mazda Newsroom to deliver Mazda news to even more people.
You can read the latest Mazda news at the URL below.
URL: https://newsroom.mazda.com/en/