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Old 28th April 2011, 17:37   #46
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Nope, the Mazda Miata narrowly missed out to the Porsche 911,because most of the 'experts' said that the Miata had 'image' issues.
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Old 28th April 2011, 17:51   #47
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Would be very happy to see Mazda here in India.

Every time I bought a car in the US, Mazdas' were a strong contender for the good design ,reliability and unique character. For some reason, I always ended up buying a Honda Accord but the next strongest contender was a Mazda.

The first ever car I TD'ed was indeed a Mazda Protege. I loved it but the only reason I did not buy it was the deal I was getting. In fact, pricing was an important reason every time I did not end up buying a Mazda whether the Protege/626/6 etc. I somehow kept getting a better deal on a Honda !.

Hope Mazda gets it right on pricing here.
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Old 29th April 2011, 00:23   #48
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Mazda's are simply great. They are as reliable as a Toyota and great to drive as well. I wonder why they even waited this long to get it here in India.

My dad own's a Mazda 323 which he had bought 13 years back and the thing is so damn reliable, after more than 3.5 lakh km's and 13 years, I don't know any other car sans a Toyota Hilux that's lived fine this long. He just got his suspension changed and that's about it.

The car is still in perfect working condition. The AC works(He has never charged the gas in it till now ) , the stereo works, power windows, locks,almost everything works.

It easily put to shame my friends 2007 bmw 328i in terms of reliabilty. His car already has electrical problems, the windows and stereo does not work properly.

Mazda has an even better lineup now with the new Mazda 3 and Mazda 6. Even their CUV's the Mazda CX-9 is amazing .

Mazda's are ever reliable and fun to drive. I will vouch for these 2 points anytime.
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Old 29th April 2011, 00:41   #49
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Lots of good feedback for Mazda here.Looks like a worthy alternative to Honda and Toyota,if people want a no nonsense,reliable,sensibly styled and bit exclusive brand.I hope Mazda takes India seriously and properly launchs its cars in the mass market segments.
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Old 29th April 2011, 00:51   #50
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Mazda without even a hitch is a wonderful car offerer and there designs are really refreshing, BUT and a big BUT, often the best fail to read the Indian dynamics properly. It will be a very tough decision to decide which way to enter, Top down or bottom up. Time has changed a lot since Hyundai entered bottom up. The launch of Santro attracted a host of people to see something new. The Epsilon engine IIRC. Now with so much on the platter, if the dish isn't garnished properly, it might get unnoticed. So Mazda gotta take a tough take if they are coming on Indian turf. Nevertheless, the more the merrier.
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Old 29th April 2011, 00:57   #51
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

All that said, how are they going to enter - independently or via JV (Swaraj Mazda anybody?)
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Old 29th April 2011, 05:44   #52
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

This is like music to my ears!
I have owned (and driven around 15000 miles) a Mazda 626 (the predecessor to 6) and currently own a Protege (predecessor to 3). The previous 626 is going strong with my roommate @ 120xxx miles , and the Protege I drive has 133xxx miles. I guess we can count them as reliable!
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Old 29th April 2011, 08:26   #53
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

This is something good about Mazda. There maybe better cars in the market, but Mazda cars somehow manage to get that emotional bonding with the owners. Probably they're only Japanese manufacturer to have that special trait.
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Old 29th April 2011, 10:28   #54
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Just a thought - if Mazda do enter the Indian market, they should be using the JDM names (Demio / Axela / Atenza) rather than the NA names (2/3/6). Somehow I feel the names are going to cut more in the Indian market than plain numbers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
This is something good about Mazda. There maybe better cars in the market, but Mazda cars somehow manage to get that emotional bonding with the owners. Probably they're only Japanese manufacturer to have that special trait.
Agreed.
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Old 29th April 2011, 15:57   #55
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

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Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
This is something good about Mazda. There maybe better cars in the market, but Mazda cars somehow manage to get that emotional bonding with the owners. Probably they're only Japanese manufacturer to have that special trait.
This is so true !!!
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Old 29th April 2011, 17:28   #56
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

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Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
This is something good about Mazda. There maybe better cars in the market, but Mazda cars somehow manage to get that emotional bonding with the owners. Probably they're only Japanese manufacturer to have that special trait.
When we were in US, we had a Mazda MPV (minivan) for a few years. It was the best handling van I had ever driven, "zoom-zoom-zoom" was Mazda's advt line. It drives almost like a well poised sedan. My wife was so attached to it. Whenever she sees the MPV in the old photos, she promptly goes down the memory lane and next thing I know I am listening to how our Xylo is such a poor replacement to the MPV

Yeah! Mazda vehicles do bond with the owners. Especially Miatas, I knew a Miata owner who treated the car like a family member. I once foolishly asked when he might sell the Miata and I learnt a lesson that day.

Cheers.
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Old 29th April 2011, 23:13   #57
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Good news if Mazda comes to India - We owned a Mazda 323 in Zambia and reliability was certainly it's hall mark - I'd say that Mazda is arguably one of the, if not the most stylish amongst the Japanese lot for quite a while.

Sporty character, stylish and reliable come together in one package, for these attributes it doesnt get much better than this.
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Old 30th April 2011, 08:21   #58
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

Fabulous news. Mazda makes good looking, sporty cars that drive well and are known for their reliability. Pretty much ticks the entire list of what you would want from a car.

Even if Mazda were to enter the market on its own accord, the synergies with Ford are clear - shared engines/procurement etc. Like Mustang said, if Mazda were to set up a plant, it would take a few years for cars to roll out. Given this factor, a top-down strategy looks more likely. Bring on that RX-8 Mazda!
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Old 30th April 2011, 09:48   #59
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

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Originally Posted by MaserQ View Post
Fabulous news. Mazda makes good looking, sporty cars that drive well and are known for their reliability. Pretty much ticks the entire list of what you would want from a car.

Even if Mazda were to enter the market on its own accord, the synergies with Ford are clear - shared engines/procurement etc. Like Mustang said, if Mazda were to set up a plant, it would take a few years for cars to roll out. Given this factor, a top-down strategy looks more likely. Bring on that RX-8 Mazda!
What you said is true, that doesnt mean they should come only with Ford's help.

Another possibility is reusing a current manufacturers facility. Like who when Ford and Renault wanted to enter India they used Mahindra's facility.

Who knows they might approach HM or even Mahindra. I am sure Ford would entertain any such partnership..

Edit: one possibility is if Ford sets up a new plant (which was discussed earlier) then it might take place. Not sure
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Old 30th April 2011, 12:41   #60
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Re: Mazda All Set to Enter India

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Originally Posted by xingamazon View Post
What you said is true, that doesnt mean they should come only with Ford's help.

Another possibility is reusing a current manufacturers facility. Like who when Ford and Renault wanted to enter India they used Mahindra's facility.

Who knows they might approach HM or even Mahindra. I am sure Ford would entertain any such partnership..

Edit: one possibility is if Ford sets up a new plant (which was discussed earlier) then it might take place. Not sure
Many people have written that Mazda should come even without a JV, but to me that makes sense only if they start with high end cars.

For people's cars (and I'm not talking about VW ) they'll need more local content in the cars and a good distribution and service network. Both are hard to do from scratch and take time and investment (as well as a willingness on the part of dealers). It is harder for Mazda as the company is a smaller and poorer cousin of all the majors already present in India, is looking at an already crowded field and, while it has good cars, has not much of a name recognition (unlike say a BMW or Merc or Ferrari) even for higher end cars.


If they do go the JV route then most of the existing manufacturers either already have JVs or don't need another. Unless Mahindra-Mazda is on cards hardly any other options exist. People mentioned Ford - but why should Ford do a JV with Mazda? Their old JV partners (Swaraj Mazda) do not have the cash or the muscle required to succeed in the mass markets and negative name recognition for the premium markets.



It will be very interesting to see what strategy they adopt when they do enter the market.

Last edited by vina : 30th April 2011 at 12:43.
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