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was a
marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of Japanese automaker
Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
, specializing in small cars and
Kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...
s, many of which were
rebadged In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...
Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
models. Autozam also briefly acted as importer of
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
vehicles to Japan. The Autozam dealership channel is still in operation in some Japanese locations, but sell all current Mazda products.


Overview

In the late 1980s, Mazda began expansion of dealerships in Japan. The idea was to create "a familiar car shop in your city" (あなたの街の身近なカーショップ; ''Anata no machi no midjikana kāshoppu'') and network of dealerships, centred around small and medium-sized maintenance shops and used car dealers. In part of this brand strategy, Mazda launched of three new marques. The company created Autozam, Eunos, and
ɛ̃fini () was a luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Mazda that operated between 1991 and 1997 in Japan only. Its inception as a brand emerged in the late 1980s when Mazda diversified its sales channels in the Japanese market with the launc ...
, in addition to the Mazda and
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
brands already marketed there. Autozam's lineup - at the time of establishment - was centered on small cars (i.e
Kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...
s and compacts). Autozam's first flagship model was the
Autozam Clef The Autozam Clef is a mid-size sedan that was sold by Autozam from 1992 until 1994. It shared Mazda's GE platform with cars like the ɛ̃fini MS-6 and Mazda MX-6 coupe. The word "clef" is a musical notation, and Mazda chose it to signify that ...
, a sedan of
Mazda Cronos The Mazda Capella, also known as the 626 in North America and Southeast Asia, is a mid-size car that was manufactured by Mazda from 1970 until 2002. Sold in the Japanese domestic market under the Capella name, the vehicle was also commonly known ...
lineage. In addition, Mazda acquired the official import rights of Lancia for the purpose of supplementing the luxury car lineup. Lancia and Autobianchi brand passenger cars manufactured by the Italian Fiat Auto, such as the Lancia Thema, Lancia Delta and Autobianchi Y10, were also on sale. The nationwide sales network was controlled by "Autozam Co., Ltd." and a regional wholesale company (Autozam Co., Ltd.). Autozam's first sales hit was the second-generation Carol, which became popular with young female buyers, partly due to targeted advertising. The
Revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
and Clef models ended up redesigned to follow the character of the much successful Carol. However, the sales of Revue and Clef ended up being disastrously sluggish, as they were completely unpopular except for a few young female users. Some of the light sports cars, such as
Autozam AZ-1 The Autozam AZ-1, known by the framecode PG6SA, is a mid-engined kei-class sports car, designed and manufactured by Mazda under its Autozam brand. Suzuki provided the engine as well as the inspiration for the design. Manufactured from October ...
and the small specialty car
Autozam AZ-3 Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that contains the southwestern portions of the state, sharing the border of Mexico from Nogales to the California border. Much of the district's population lives in the western t ...
were also critically and publicly applauded, but did not translate to good sales. For short time, Autozam imported Lancia cars to Japan as a high-margin luxury car line. Lancia sales too were disappointing, as Japanese import buyers did not like buying their cars from showrooms sharing space with the cheerful and cute
Autozam Carol Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) * Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...
. As a result, there was no Autozam product that was profitable except for the second generation Carol. Even the future Carol models were not as popular as the 2nd generation because it became a half-finished retro-feature concept with a slightly regressed fancy flavor when it was fully remodelled in the 3rd generation. Among the Mazda 5 channel dealers, where the core model Cronos ended in a big failure, only the éfini RX-7 was really popular. The sales of the best-selling Ford Festiva plummeted after the full model change, as with Autozam Carol. Autozam had become seriously unprofitable, even more so than the Eunos store, which only product was the
Eunos Roadster The Mazda MX-5 (NA) (sold in Japan as the and in North America as the Mazda MX-5 Miata) is the first generation of the Mazda MX-5 manufactured from 1989 to 1997. Inspired by the post-war era British sports cars, the MX-5 rejuvenated intere ...
. This caused the management of the Mazda headquarters was severely distressed.


Transition to "Mazda Autozam store"

Of the marquees created by Mazda - the so called 5-channel system - Autozam name was one of the few that survived. But in 1998, certain standards were set for the dealership size and sales of Autozam stores nationwide. The dealerships were changed to "Mazda Autozam store" and started selling the products under the parent company Mazda name. At first, these dealerships mainly sold the
Mazda Familia Bongo Premacy , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
. In addition, the Mazda-Autozam dealerships started
OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
sales of
Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
automobiles. During the channel reorganization period, the Autozam store, which could not be transferred to the Mazda Autozam store, handled only light cars and Demio with the sign as it was, but as new models, AZ-Offroad and Laputa are sold together with the Mazda Autozam store. After these two cars, new models were no longer introduced to the "Autozam store", and in order to handle the new models after that, it was necessary to move to the Mazda Autozam store. Stores that did not meet the standards returned their dealership rights without being given the right to sell new models. As a result, by the early 2000s, about 900 Autozam stores had changed to 350 Mazda Autozam stores. In addition, Lancia's regular import rights were returned by 1998. In 2001, Autozam Co., Ltd. and a regional wholesale company merged to form "Mazda Autozam Co., Ltd.", and one company nationwide controlled the sales network. After that, we started handling Axela in 2003 and MPV, Tribute, Bongo Friendee in March 2004. Other Mazda channels (Mazda store, Mazda éfini store) are now handling Carol Spiano, AZ-Wagon, and Scrum, which were exclusive to Autozam, and the differentiation from other sales channels has disappeared. From April 2016, we will start handling Atenza, Roadster, Familia Van, and Titan, which are the top models of Mazda vehicles that have not been sold so far. As a result, although the name of the Mazda Autozam store remains, it has become a de facto unification of domestic sales channels. As a result, "Mazda Autozam Co., Ltd." has suspended its operations, and Mazda itself and the Mazda éfini and Mazda stores in each region will supervise and manage the nationwide sales network.


Autozam models

The following vehicles were part of the Autozam brand. Those that were rebadged versions are noted in parentheses. * 1990–1998
Autozam Carol Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) * Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...
keicar Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...
(rebodied
Suzuki Alto The is a kei car produced by Suzuki since 1979. The model, currently in its ninth generation, was first introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide. The Alto originated as a commercial vehicle derivative of the Fronte, b ...
) * 1990–1994
Autozam Revue The Autozam Revue is a subcompact car that was sold by Autozam, introduced in 1990. The demise of that marque led to the cars being renamed as the Mazda Revue in some markets. The car was also sold in many export markets as the Mazda 121, where i ...
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
(
Mazda 121 The Mazda 121 name has been used on a variety of Mazda automobiles for various export markets from 1975 until 2002: * 1975–1981 — Piston engined variants of the second generation Mazda Cosmo sports car * 1986–1991 — First ...
) * 1990–1997
Autozam Scrum The Autozam Scrum, later known as Mazda Scrum, is a Cab forward, cabover microvan and kei truck sold exclusively in Japan by Japanese automaker Mazda. Originally part of the company's Autozam marque, it was first introduced in June 1989 (DG41, ...
mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-se ...
(
Suzuki Carry The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzuk ...
) * 1991–1998
Autozam AZ-3 Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that contains the southwestern portions of the state, sharing the border of Mexico from Nogales to the California border. Much of the district's population lives in the western t ...
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
(
Mazda MX-3 The Mazda MX-3 is a four-seat coupé front wheel drive manufactured and marketed by Mazda, introduced at the Geneva Auto Show#1991, Geneva Auto Show in March 1991 and marketed for model years 1992–1998. The MX-3 was also marketed as the Mazda ...
) * 1992–1993
Autozam Clef The Autozam Clef is a mid-size sedan that was sold by Autozam from 1992 until 1994. It shared Mazda's GE platform with cars like the ɛ̃fini MS-6 and Mazda MX-6 coupe. The word "clef" is a musical notation, and Mazda chose it to signify that ...
sedan (
Mazda Cronos The Mazda Capella, also known as the 626 in North America and Southeast Asia, is a mid-size car that was manufactured by Mazda from 1970 until 2002. Sold in the Japanese domestic market under the Capella name, the vehicle was also commonly known ...
) * 1992–1994
Autozam AZ-1 The Autozam AZ-1, known by the framecode PG6SA, is a mid-engined kei-class sports car, designed and manufactured by Mazda under its Autozam brand. Suzuki provided the engine as well as the inspiration for the design. Manufactured from October ...
mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
( Suzuki Cara) * 1994–1997 Autozam AZ-Wagon
station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
( Suzuki Wagon R, later sold as a Mazda) The Mazda AZ-Wagon continued to use the "AZ" name until 2003, while the Mazda AZ-Offroad
mini SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
(a rebadged
Suzuki Jimny The is a series of four-wheel drive off-road mini SUVs, manufactured and marketed by Japanese automaker Suzuki since 1970. Originally belonging to the kei class, Japan's light automobile tax/legal class, the company continues to market a kei- ...
) was introduced in 1998, continuing to carry on Autozam's naming conventions.


Lancia imports

Autozam locations also briefly sold
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
products to Japanese buyers. The vehicles sold are listed below. Of the Lancia products sold, only the top level Thema didn't comply with Japanese Government exterior and engine displacement
regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
to encourage sales, giving Japanese buyers who visited Autozam locations an alternative to the
Autozam Clef The Autozam Clef is a mid-size sedan that was sold by Autozam from 1992 until 1994. It shared Mazda's GE platform with cars like the ɛ̃fini MS-6 and Mazda MX-6 coupe. The word "clef" is a musical notation, and Mazda chose it to signify that ...
, which also exceeded width dimensions.


Lancia models

*
Lancia Thema The Lancia Thema (Type 834) is an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and one of four cars to share the Type Four platform alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000. The Thema was first shown ...
*
Lancia Dedra The Lancia Dedra (Type 835) is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia from 1989 to 1999. It was initially designed to support, and later to replace, the Prisma that, six years after its launch, was having difficulty rema ...
*
Lancia Delta The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Genev ...
*
Lancia Prisma The Lancia Prisma (''Tipo 831'') was a small family car built by Italian car manufacturer Lancia between 1982 and 1989. It was a saloon version of the first generation Lancia Delta hatchback, and like the Delta it was designed by Giorgetto Giugi ...
*
Lancia Y10 Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...


References

{{commons category, Autozam Mazda Autozam vehicles Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1989 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 Japanese companies disestablished in 1998 Japanese companies established in 1989