Mazda begins new product blitz with minivan

TOKYO, April 16 Reuters is reporting that Mazda Motor Corp on Tuesday unveiled a new minivan, the first release in a product blitz that Japan's fifth-largest automaker hopes will help it build on the return to profit forecast for the year that ended in March.

The upgraded version of its MPV minivan is the first of four new products the automaker is due to unveil in the domestic market this year as it shifts focus to boosting sales from cost cuts.

Mazda, one-third owned by Ford Motor Co, was hampered by a lack of new vehicles last year, but last Thursday it raised its group net profit forecast for 2001/02 by 554 percent to 8.5 billion yen ($64.38 million), helped by cost cuts and a weak yen.

It posted a net loss of 155.24 billion yen in 2000/01 and the new profit forecast, if realised, would mark the biggest year-on-year turnaround in the company's 82-year history.

Mazda President Mark Fields said on Tuesday that since the automaker achieved the expected strong results in a sluggish market without fresh products, its new models could only boost its revival efforts to the next level in 2002/03.

``We are having what I would call a financial-led recovery, followed by a product-led recovery,'' Fields said. ``And we're targeting overall a very robust recovery as we go forward.''

Mazda spent much of the 1990s in the red and has been restructuring since Ford sent in executives in 1996.

The company's cost-cutting efforts were highly successful in 2001/02, but questions remain about whether it will maintain momentum as it shifts focus to sales with its new products.

Previews of its new products, which include a new Atenza and Demio, have been well received, but Mazda will be unveiling its offerings at a time when the U.S. and Japanese auto markets could be sluggish.

Several of its rivals will also be unveiling a string of new products, and some analysts have questioned whether Mazda will be able to bring its products to market on time.

Mazda said it would aim for domestic sales of the new MPV minivan of around 48,000 units per year, while U.S. sales are targeted at around 36,000 annually.

The MPV, to be priced from around 2.1 million yen to 2.95 million yen, will be Mazda's first vehicle in Japan to feature its I4 in-line 2,300 c.c. engine, which has been well received by analysts.