Mazda and Bermaz begin talks on joint venture

Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Malaysia’s Bermaz Motor Sdn. Bhd. (Bermaz) will begin talks regarding the establishment of a joint venture company in Malaysia, which will further enhance Mazda’s business and brand strength in the country. Mazda began to locally assemble its Mazda3, which is known as Axela in Japan last year, and the new joint venture project is aimed at the local annual production of the 3,000 Mazda CX-5 beginning in early in 2013. The move is meant to capitalize on Malaysia’s potential, which is one of the leading automobile markets among the ASEAN nations. “Mazda’s sales in Malaysia have shown consistent growth since we started doing business with Bermaz in 2008. In the last financial year we achieved record sales results of approximately 6,000 units and one percent of the market share. Local assembly of Mazda3 started in January 2011 and is going well. Malaysia is one of our key strategic markets and we expect further growth there. The talks with Bermaz about the joint-venture production and sales company indicate Mazda’s strong commitment to business in Malaysia. Mazda will continue to focus on emerging markets to strengthen our overall business foundation,” said Takashi Yamanouchi, representative director and chairman of the board, president and CEO of Mazda. In its Structural Reform Plan, the company has set a sales target of 150,000 units for the entire ASEAN region for the fiscal year ending March 2016. (July 13, 2012)