[GTO]

This news is definitely true; I've been hearing murmurs from some very reliable sources, that Mazda has been evaluating an India launch since a couple of months.

A crowded marketplace though, with Maruti / Hyundai / Tata / Toyota / Ford and gang going from strength to strength. Only a VW with its mega branding budget could create the kind of buzz that it did. Compare that to Nissan, most people don't even know the brand sells cars in India.

Mazda will have to carve out a differentiator for itself. Interestingly, Mazda has a wide range of products in its garage. Hatchbacks (including many rebadged Suzukis), sedans, luxury sedans and utility vehicles.

It will be fascinating to watch on the kind of entry strategy they adopt. Top down (like VW, Nissan etc.) where you launch 15 - 25 lakh cars, understand the market, get a couple of dealers onboard and then, roll out the sub-10 lakh cars. Or will Mazda straight away start with a product like the 2. Let me tell you that the Mazda Demio is one heck of a hatchback. And a stunning looker too.

I'd personally go with the former, slow & steady strategy.

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

I do not know whether Mazda will have any association with Ford India or not.

Ford now owns a miniscule 3.xx % of Mazda; there is no motivation for any kind of association. And knowing Alan Mulally, he would much rather that Ford India continues their growth trajectory alone.

[Tgo]

Weel, as nice as it sounds only time will tell how soon and with what do they march into India. As far as i have an understanding of mazda, they are the rarer cars even abroad, very difficult to find in a sea of nissans, toyotas and hondas. They do stand out thought when spotted. Which really makes me wonder how small production car makers manage to earn profits to an extent to be manically obssessed with Rotart engine development?

What i don't understand is, where does mazda see a market in india where every new vehicle is applauded by enthusiasts but when it comes to shelling out some cash they settle for old reliable options like marutis.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by GTO

Ford now owns a miniscule 3.xx % of Mazda; there is no motivation for any kind of association. And knowing Alan Mulally, he would much rather that Ford India continues their growth trajectory alone.

Yes that is true but still Ford and Mazda do have common production plants abroad.

Moreover the Mazda 2 is based on the B299 Fiesta platform which has just been released in India.

However, Even my head says that there will be no association with Ford India.

Mazda will suffer even more if they have to build a new plant from scratch, It will take them at least 2-3 years to get the cars rolling out then and god knows what kind of stuff do we have on our roads by then.

Btw the share of ford in mazda is 3.50% .

[sandeep_s]

This is great news.

I have driven Mazda 6 may times when I was in US. Mazda are simply wonderful to drive. Hopefully they will get the Mazda speed3 hatchback as well

[MileCruncher]

This is one news that my wife will be very happy to hear as with the entry of Mazda she can atleast hope to get her fav car Mazda Miata/MX-5 here in India.

This was long overdue as they had first planned to enter the Indian market in the early 2000 and for that purpose had sent 5 Mazda 6 for testing purposes. One of them was used by the Swaraj Mazda MD as his ride. Whatta vehicle it was! Anyways that time the project was scrapped due to internal problems in Japanese operations.

Good that they are coming finally

[akbaree]

At some point I started liking the looks of Mazda. I would love to see them on Indian roads. Moreover I feel that the models that they have are well suited for Indian market.

[vineethvazhayil]

The only Mazda car I've ever driven is the Mazda speed 3! Trust me, it is one hell of a car.. When the turbo kicks in, you really travel at the rate of knots. And a wonderful fun steering to add to that. I loved it!

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by moose56

I personally love the looks of mazda3 and mazda6 hope to see them soon in India. btw are the Mazda's fun to drive ?

Mazda are probably the most fun to drive sedans and hatches from a Jap company! I once had the pleasure to drive a 1.8l Mazda3 hatch on the A-Bahn south of munich, and boy what a car - great handling, stability, super acceleration (didn't feel 1.6l, very responsive from low revs). I did 90km in under 35 minutes and never felt the car was reaching its limits. Top speed reached 190kmph because the tyres were rated at that speed, but there were revs left...

Given Mitsu's state, Mazda maybe a hope for enthusiast drivers and petrolheads!

[avishar]

I dont think Mazda should follow a top down entry strategy rather it should do a bottom up.Nissan strategy has not really worked where it tried to do a top to down one,because it is not really perceived in India or can be made to perceive as brand for which you will be willing part 20+ lakhs.Same goes for Mazda.

Some people might remember Mazda from the swaraj mazda days which is not going to help in creating a premium image.

What i think Mazda should do is firstly read and understand the Indian market very carefully.Then should launch 2 products,one could be a C+ segment sedan and another a B segment hatchback.They have to spend some serious cash if they want to have any respectable market share whithin 5 years down the line.

That means setting up a plant that makes 50,000-75,000 cars a year(mix of the sedan and hatchback),and at launch have a delearship network that covers all the metros(kolkata got its Nissan delearship this month!!),and the important tier-2 cities,roundabout 25 delearships atleast.

Have a clear advertising campign,focus on the cars and technology,good customer experience (and for heaven's sake no 5 month waiting periods),availability of test drives,competent A.S.S and so on.

Next they should target segments where there is not much competitors there a lot of demand for a smaller people carrier, 10 lakh SUV.

[SR-71]

They should think about launching the Mazda 3 too (have nostalgic memories of driving one whenever in state side). Awesome car for our mid-level kitty. Its very sporty and handles very well though one can complaint about some amount of under-steering - All said, it will be better than other contenders in our 8 - 10L bracket.

[xavieman]

Mazda's are awesome . I have fond memories of seeing / admiring/ lusting over the 626 from back in the day. Ideally i'd love to see the Miata and the CX-9 on the roads here.

[vb-saan]

Now thats interesting. More choices are always good for the customer.

If they plan to enter the market with Mazda 2 hatch, will it be a direct competition to the Ford Fiesta hatch (if it gets launched in India). From what I know, both are identical cars wearing different make-up. Mazda 3 can be an interesting entry point - its a capable car in the league of Civic and Corolla.

[vina]

Does Mazda 2 come with a diesel option? From the looks of it no diesel option is available even in Europe where there is a decent demand for diesels.

That may not bode well for Mazda.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by vina

Does Mazda 2 come with a diesel option? From the looks of it no diesel option is available even in Europe where there is a decent demand for diesels.

That may not bode well for Mazda.

Mazda 2 uses the same ford 1.6 TDCi & 1.4 TDCi engines.

[vina]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

Mazda 2 uses the same ford 1.6 TDCi & 1.4 TDCi engines.

Well, then what's the difference between Figo/Fiesta and Mazda 2 except the sticker up front and styling?