All loyal customers are top priority for Mazda and the size of the market is not so important for the company a top official of the auto giant told Khaleej Times during an interview.

The company gives top priority to every market in the Middle East regardless of its size Mazda Motor Corporation executive officer for business of growing markets Hiroshi Inoue said.

The company believes volume is not just only a factor in terms of Mazda being represented in the region he explained. "It's all about relationship with customers and customers' satisfaction as we keep our customers satisfied with quality products and good after-sales service" Inoue explained.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest market in the region and the UAE is the second-largest market for the company in terms of volume said Inoue who looks after more than 80 markets including the Middle East Africa Russia and Asean countries.

"Our commitment is to deliver a product which can provide outstanding driving experience with piece of mind to our customers. Our corporate vision is to deepen the relationship with people who love cars" he explained.

"If it's big volume market maybe other companies say it is an important market but Mazda's view is different and we prioritise car lovers" he emphasised.

At the Tokyo Motor Show which concluded earlier this month Mazda Motor Corporation unveiled the rotary-powered Mazda RX-VISION sports car concept.

"It's a pure concept model representing Mazda engineers' dream and to create leading edge car in the world. At this moment there is no specific plan for mass production [for the Mazda RX-VISION]" he said.

The RX-VISION represents a vision of the future that Mazda hopes to one day make into reality - a front-engine rear-wheel drive sports car with exquisite Kodo design-based proportions only Mazda could envision and powered by the next-generation SKYACTIV-R rotary engine.

Dubai International Motor Show

Mazda Motor Corporation and Galadari Automobiles Company announced the launch of the world's favourite sports car the all-new Mazda MX-5 in the UAE at the Dubai International Motor Show. The show also witnessed the first official premier of the first-ever Mazda CX-3 compact crossover SUV in the UAE and GCC in this year's edition of the show.

Galadari Automobiles Company is the sole distributor of Mazda cars in the UAE. The Mazda6 and Mazda3 are popular models in the country according to the company.

Galadari Automobiles Company and Mazda also showcased the all-new Mazda2 recently launched in the UAE alongside the latest 2016 models of the Mazda3 Mazda6 Mazda CX-5 and Mazda CX-9.

Hybrid cars

There is no plan to introduce Mazda's hybrid models in the Middle East especially in Gulf countries where oil prices are lower compared to other countries where hybrid models are popular he replied to a question.

Considering the lower fuel prices in the region customers will not get benefits by purchasing a hybrid vehicle at a higher price compared to a gasoline vehicle he explained.

The company is selling hybrid Mazda3 in Japan he said adding that it took a couple of years in Japan to change the mindset of people to think about environment-friendly hybrid vehicles.

Driverless car

An autonomous car also known as driverless car self-driving car and robotic car is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the main transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. Driverless cars have potential to hit the traditional automobile industry as this new product is coming from outside the auto industry - Apple Google and Tesla.

Inoue welcomes the concept but said Mazda has no specific plan for any joint venture with any company. "We will not deliver driverless car however we prioritise customers' safety" he said.

Mazda has the technology which can take control of the car in case of any unfortunate incident because of human mistakes. He revealed that Mazda research team had tested the driverless technology for the first time almost three-decade ago.

Sales target H1 results

Earlier this month Mazda Motor Corporation revised its full fiscal year 2016 profit and sales targets. The company expects 3.37 trillion net sales showing more than 11 per cent growth in fiscal year 2016 over 2015. Operating income is expected to be 230 billion more than 13 per cent compared to last year.

Mazda declared net sales of 1.7 trillion for the first six months of fiscal year 2016 from April to September. The company reported operating income at 125.88 billion and net income at 89.83 billion.

Mazda forecasts 8.4 per cent increase in units' sales for the fiscal year 2016. Its estimated sales volume for the year is 1.51 million units. Europe North America and Japan are expected to contribute 11.3 per cent 5.1 per cent and 4.2 per cent of the total units' sales volume according to the company.

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INTERVIEW