Mazda Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary in Mexico

- Mazda Goes From Nonexistent to the 8th Largest Automaker in Just Five Years -

News provided by

Oct 13, 2010, 12:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) today announced the grand opening of its new national headquarters in Santa Fe, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico. The announcement comes just one week after Mazda celebrated its fifth anniversary of doing business in Mexico.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101013/LA81186)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101013/LA81186)

The company began operations on October 6, 2005 with only five Mazda dealerships. At that time, those five dealerships sold only the MAZDA3 4-door and 5-door, MAZDA5 and MAZDA6 sports sedan. Five successful years later, Mazda still sells MAZDA3, MAZDA5 and MAZDA6, but has since added the MX-5 two-seat roadster, CX-7 and CX-9 crossover utility vehicles. The company now boasts a network of 31 dealerships and is the eighth largest automaker out of 40 brands in Mexico with a 3.1 percent market share.

Since 2005, Mazda has risen from literally nothing in Mexico to become a popular choice for value- and style-conscious buyers. Cumulatively, MMdM has sold more than 83,000 vehicles, and has built an enviable business model in a down economy. Yearly sales can be seen in the breakout below:

2005 (Oct. – Dec.) = 769

2006 = 7,495

2007 = 16,544

2008 = 21,985

2009 = 18,914

2010 (Jan. – Sept.) = 17,390

"I'm so proud of the tremendous growth and success the Mazda brand has achieved in our first five years," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO, Mazda North American Operations. "This wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of our dealer network in Mexico and hard work from the MMdM team led by managing director, Leopoldo Orellana."

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary in the United States in 2010, Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario; and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations