Mazda CEO: No new RX models; focusing on Skyactiv

Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai says he has no plans to introduce a new RX sports coupe. For the foreseeable future, all of the small company’s resources will be devoted to improving its Skyactiv technologies.
In an interview with Automotive News, Kogai emphasized the company’s need to focus on shoring up its financial situation.

When Kogai took control of the company in June of 2013, it was fresh off its first profitable quarter in five years.

Mazda’s consistent delivery of improved mainstream models with a tight focus on quality, fuel efficiency and feature content has paid off. Through October, Mazda’s sales in the United States are up 8.1%.

But the small, export-reliant company still operates on a very tight budget and lacks the development resources of the larger, consolidated automakers.

Mazda has a long history of boom-and-bust cycles. Before the financial crisis, it was Ford’s most profitable brand, but a lack of focus on fuel efficiency left the automaker in peril when the bottom dropped out of the industry and Ford cashed in its ownership share.

Its renewed success gives the company some breathing room, but Kogai isn’t taking it for granted. “The challenge for us now is how we can sustain this,” he said.