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Mazda Goes Into High Gear with New RX-8
Wed April 9, 2003 02:13 AM ET



By Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp is hoping for great things from its new RX-8 sports car, if not in terms of sales, certainly in terms of the boost it expects to its image.

After spending half of the 1990s in the red, Mazda, owned one-third by Ford Motor Co, has been trying to rebuild itself by crafting a fresh brand identity with attractive and unique cars.

The RX-8 was officially launched by Japan's fifth-largest auto maker on Wednesday, although Mazda has been assiduously preparing the public for some time.

Since test drives began for journalists and analysts late last year, the RX-8 has won rave reviews from all quarters.

"The RX-8 is great fun to drive, it's very smooth, and a usable, four-door four-seater," said Steve Usher, senior analyst at J.P. Morgan.

"In terms of what it's going to do for Mazda's image, the RX-8 is going to be very important."

The RX-8 sure has plenty of pizazz.

Not only is it a head-turner with 18-inch alloy wheels and a muscular body sprinkled with a trapezoidal motif; it's the world's first true sports car with four doors, which open like a gate, allowing easy access to the back seats.

Powered by the auto maker's revolutionary "Renesis" rotary engine, the RX-8 is 20 percent more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, the RX-7, but has upwards of 210 horsepower and plenty of torque.

On top of the big savings on insurance that come with having four doors instead of the conventional two for sports cars, the RX-8 is priced at $25,180 in the United States and as low as 2.4 million yen ($20,050) in Japan.

That's much cheaper than most industry watchers had expected, and compares with more than three million yen for the Fairlady Z, made by Nissan Motor Co, and about four million yen for the Audi TT from the luxury unit of Volkswagen AG.

UNIQUELY MAZDA

Mazda says the RX-8 is so unique that it has no real competitors.

"It's a sports car like no other," Mazda President Lewis Booth told a news conference at the much-awaited launch.

"(Because it's a four-seater) it's the ideal car for active customers who wanted a sports car but had been unable to own one because of the needs of their families and friends."

The RX-8, being built in Mazda's home of Hiroshima in western Japan, goes on sale in Japan later this month and the rest of the world this summer. It will be sold in about 30 countries.

Due to the relatively low production size -- Mazda aims to sell about 60,000 units a year globally, with half the sales coming from the United States -- analysts said the RX-8 won't contribute much to Mazda's overall sales volume.

But it is strategically important because it is sure to boost Mazda's image and showroom traffic, giving more exposure to its other models and, potentially, a lift to its bottom line, analysts say.

For the business year that ended in March, Mazda expects to have tripled its group net profit to 26.5 billion yen from a year earlier thanks to an aggressive five-year growth plan launched in 2000 after the company spent 1994 to 1998 wallowing in red ink.

THE NEW MIATA

In Japan, where Mazda hopes to sell about 1,000 units a month, the auto maker has already collected 5,000 pre-launch orders. In North America, more than 130,000 potential customers have requested information on the car, a company official said.

If this keeps up, the RX-8 could do for Mazda what the Miata did for the struggling company in 1989.

That roadster was an instant hit in the United States, helping the small auto maker gain recognition and status in the world's biggest car market.

Ironically, many compared the Miata to General Motors Corp's Fiero, which was supposed to be the auto giant's new flagship model but became one of the biggest flops in GM history.

"There's a very clear product strategy that's now in place at Mazda, not only in terms of design but in terms of technology and performance," Usher said.

"We remain confident that Mazda will deliver slightly ahead of expectations (in the just-ended business year) and that this year, they're going to take the next step in restoring more competitive levels of profitability." ($1=119.71 yen) (Additional reporting by Yuko Inoue)