Mazda 2011 Annual Report Download - page 12

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Q4 What is the status of progress under the
Framework for Medium- and Long-Term
Initiatives formulated in 2010?
Quickly responding to a year of sudden changes
in operating environment
The Framework for Medium- and Long-Term Initiatives
was announced in April 2010, but over the roughly one
year since then Mazda’s operating environment has
changed dramatically.
External factors including a persistent higher yen and
a rise in prices for raw materials have pressured earnings.
The sales environment also saw rapid advances by
Korean and German manufacturers, leveraging the
weakness of their own currencies, which put pressure on
Japanese manufacturers. In particular, Korean manufac-
turers made gains in the United States, and this has
intensified competition for sales. In terms of demand,
there has been a noticeable delay in the recovery of
developed markets, especially Japan and Europe, while
on the other hand emerging markets such as China,
ASEAN countries, and Central and South America are
showing remarkable growth. Environmental awareness
continues to grow as well.
We have therefore begun to implement five pillars to
quickly address these dramatic changes in our operating
environment that have occurred over the past year.
1. Brand Value
Mazda is pursuing a global project to enhance its brand
value, with a focus on brand loyalty. As a result of
further efforts made during the past year, our brand
value continues to rise, as evidenced by our continued
top-level position in residual value around the world.
Customer loyalty is also showing a trend of steady
improvement in the United States and other major
markets, indicating solid progress in enhancing brand
value over the past year.
Going forward, we will utilize the successful introduc-
tion of SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY to raise brand value as
well as customer satisfaction and trust, through appro-
priate pricing and increased residual value, as we
pursue higher transaction prices and innovation in
global sales methods.
2. Monotsukuri Innovation
As a result of integrated planning, flexible production,
and other initiatives:
• Development efficiency has increased more than 30%.
• Cost improvements in new-generation vehicles is at
the 20% level.
• Efficiency in capital investment for production
equipment rose by 20–60%.
With our new-generation vehicles, we expect to achieve
weight reductions of more than 100 kilograms, Euro6
compliance with both SKYACTIV-G and SKYACTIV-D, and
improvements in terms of both costs and performance.
Going forward, we will implement measures to further
improve costs and address the exchange rate risk, in response
INTERVIEW WITH THE CEO
5 Pillars
Promoting projects globally to raise
brand value
Brand Value
Steadily promoting environmental and
safety measures based on the Building
Block Strategy
Environmental
and Safety
Technologies
Increasing performance while improving costs
through development efficiency and
streamlined investment
Monotsukuri
Innovation
Expanding and reinforcing production and
sales structures in emerging markets in which
Mazda has already established a presence
Emerging
Markets
Pursuing further synergies
Ford Synergies
10 Mazda Annual Report 201 1