{"id":157370,"date":"2020-12-21T10:53:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T15:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=157370"},"modified":"2020-12-21T15:59:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:59:55","slug":"qa-mazda-pres-jeff-guyton-talks-toyota-turbos-evs-and-moving-up-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2020\/12\/qa-mazda-pres-jeff-guyton-talks-toyota-turbos-evs-and-moving-up-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Mazda Pres. Jeff Guyton Talks Toyota, Turbos, EVs and Moving Upmarket"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Mazda had an unexpectedly good year despite the pandemic, according to Jeff Guyton, president of North American Operations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With his boyish face, Jeff Guyton looks a lot younger than his 53 years, but his resume reveals someone with extensive automotive experience culminating in his appointment as the president of Mazda\u2019s North American operations in April 2019.<\/p>\n

From its early days in the U.S. market, the Hiroshima-based brand has earned a loyal, even cult-like following for products like the MX-5 Miata, and technology like the rotary engine. But Mazda has long struggled to push out of the niche category when it comes to sales, especially as the parent company this year marks its centennial.<\/p>\n

Guyton has scored some successes as Mazda has rolled out new products like the CX-30, the automaker\u2019s sales relatively flat in a market down about 16% for the year to date, while Mazda\u2019s market share has surged to record levels. That earned him numerous kudos, among other things, being named a 2020 All-Star by influential Automotive News. Mazda also has won praise for several programs aimed at honoring first responders in the COVID pandemic battle. This month it announced the winners in its \u201cHeroes\u201d program, 50 individuals who \u201ctirelessly dedicated themselves to their communities throughout 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking forward, Guyton will have still more on his plate, Mazda just launching its first turbo models, getting ready to begin production at the Alabama plant it is building as part of a joint venture with Toyota and, as the executive revealed in this exclusive interview, laying out plans to bring Mazda\u2019s first all-electric model to the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

(Mazda tops annual Consumer Reports reliability study, Tesla slammed.)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mazda’s first BEV, the MX-30. is now on sale in Europe and will soon get a range-extender option. The package will come to the U.S., said Guyton, though timing has not yet been announced.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TheDetroitBureau:<\/strong> We\u2019re seeing a lot of automakers, like Ford, GM, Volvo, even Bentley, signaling they\u2019re ramping up their EV programs. So, where are you going?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> We take a well-to-wheels approach to greenhouse gases and we\u2019re planning to reduce the impact of our fleet 90% by 2050. That includes power generation. It\u2019s difficult to explain to people that even if a vehicle doesn\u2019t have a tailpipe it\u2019s not necessarily carbon neutral if we burn a lot of fossil fuel to create electricity. Of course, over time, that\u2019s shifting but, by 2030, but our goal is to reduce the whole carbon footprint. And, yes, that includes electric vehicles. But in other places where there\u2019s a dependence on fossil fuels for electricity, we\u2019ll have vehicles that are extremely fuel efficient.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also been involved with Toyota and other partners in Japan on the next-generation electric vehicle architecture so we\u2019re prepared for this shift into electrification. But we\u2019ve never approached this as EVs being the savior.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> So, let\u2019s talk about Mazda\u2019s electrification plans. What do you have coming in the near future in terms of hybrid, plug-in and pure battery-electric vehicles?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Guyton was recently named an Automotive News All-Star.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> Recently, we announced that we would be employing the Toyota hybrid system that we\u2019ll be producing in Alabama, (at their new joint venture plant with Toyota), along with other Mazda-originated powertrains. We\u2019ve said it\u2019s a new crossover for the North American market.<\/p>\n

Also, we\u2019ve talked about introducing our large platform architecture that will have plug-in hybrid capability, along with other electrification. We haven\u2019t said when, but that\u2019s coming in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n

We have launched the MX-30 in Europe, which is our first battery-electric vehicle. And we will be making that product available in the future with a rotary range extender. Any chance of it coming to the U.S.? Yes, it will, though we haven\u2019t talked about the date publicly yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> And it will have the (rotary engine) range-extender option for the U.S., like you\u2019re planning in Europe?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> That\u2019s our plan. For the U.S. market, the range-extender option would be more appropriate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> How soon before you offer even more electrified options in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mazda is celebrating its platinum jubilee with the 100th Anniversary Mazda Miata.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> Well, by 2025 I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be selling much of anything that doesn\u2019t have electrification onboard. We certainly see the trends everybody else sees.<\/p>\n

(A Week With: 2020 Mazda3 Hatchback AWD.)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> The industry was divided over the Trump administration\u2019s plan to eliminate California\u2019s waiver, allowing it to set tougher greenhouse gases than the national policy \u2013 something it would use to promote faster EV adoption. Where did Mazda come in on this?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> We\u2019re a member of the coalition that wanted a national policy. Lots of people paint that as Trump-versus-California. It\u2019s not really the way we saw it. For our business scale, we need a national policy. We weren\u2019t siding with Trump or California. We hope we can come to a place where there is a national standard with improvements in it, year-over-year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> What does Mazda\u2019s 100th<\/sup> anniversary mean, especially in light of all the news impacting the industry this year? It\u2019s challenging for a company the size of Toyota but has to be especially difficult for one the size of Mazda.<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a volatile year and I\u2019m pleased to see we\u2019ve had some records this year. Over the summer we had the best market share Mazda has ever seen in the U.S. We came through the first 11 months selling almost as many as last year over the same period \u2013 though I\u2019d like to sell a few more \u2013 which is pretty remarkable considering the kind of year it\u2019s been. Our dealers also have had a record return on sales. And the used business has been remarkable. So, we\u2019ve had a great year from a business standpoint.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mazda’s newest crossover, the CX-30, slots right between the CX-3 and CX-5.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TDB:<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk about your partnering relationships. Your CEO said, after the alliance with Ford broke up, that Mazda would need more partnerships. How is the relationship with Toyota going?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> The Toyota relationship is very interesting because it is founded on mutual respect. There\u2019s an equity relationship but cross-holdings of the same dollar amount. From my Mazda perspective we see a company with tremendous resources and capabilities. From Toyota\u2019s perspective they see a much smaller company that\u2019s an amazing competitor given our scale. So the companies have looked for opportunities. They\u2019re not designed to focus on any specific area of the business.<\/p>\n

When we look at the United States \u2026 and Australia \u2026 we see financial services. We see electric vehicle architecture development centered in Japan. We see development of the Alabama plant together. It\u2019s opportunistic rather than some grand plan. It\u2019s essential Mazda keep itself sort of Mazda to contribute that sort scrappy kind \u2026 of spirit. We can do a lot with a little. We just can\u2019t do everything.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> I get a sense of Mazda pushing a bit more upmarket than where you\u2019ve traditionally competed. Can you talk about that?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> With our new range of products and the turbo we\u2019re focused on great design and driving dynamics and you see increasing levels of power we can provide in a fuel-efficient way. That combination, we hope, will be attractive to people buying premium vehicles today. We think there is some magic to be found there. So, we think the introduction of the Mazda3 turbo and the CX-30 turbo will be very promising for the brand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
For 2021, Mazda took care of the one glaring weakness of the Mazda3: power.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> Before we wrap up, let me congratulate you for being named to the Automotive News All-Stars.<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> It\u2019s a nice reflection on what the team has been able to do here. We\u2019ve done a lot of things that are creative and maybe different and we\u2019ve had good results. But it\u2019s teamwork.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk about the Heroes program. What was your intent?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> This isn\u2019t the 2020 anybody expected. It\u2019s the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of our company and 50 years of Mazda in the United States. We imagined it a little differently. If you look at Mazda\u2019s DNA it\u2019s about finding products that brighten peoples\u2019 lives. Normally, we do it through products and technology like the MX-5 or the rotary engine. So, when we heard what people are doing in the pandemic we thought this isn\u2019t how we pictured the 100th<\/sup> anniversary but we saw people trying to brighten people\u2019s lives, and that matches with what we\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n

(Return of the rotary: Mazda will use Wankel as range extender for all-electric MX-30.)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

TDB:<\/strong> What has been the response?<\/p>\n

Guyton:<\/strong> We\u2019ve had nothing but good feedback. Earlier this year we did a program (where) we offered a free oil change and a deep clean to anybody who was a healthcare worker, regardless of what brand vehicle they drove. We had more than 50,000 people come for that in just the course of a few weeks. Healthcare workers are stressed and overwhelmed and we were able to give them a little peace of mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With his boyish face, Jeff Guyton looks a lot younger than his 53 years, but his resume reveals someone with extensive automotive experience culminating in his appointment as the president of Mazda\u2019s North American operations in April 2019. Guyton sat down with Editor Paul A. Eisenstein for an exclusive Q&A. Check it out TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5,10,12,9],"tags":[],"make":[83],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,140,286,150,151,123,133,131,319,142,289,155,299,152,154,163,132,198,284,125,124,122,137,139,148,128,291,278,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157370"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=157370"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=157370"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=157370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}