The short answer is no. Mazda is not owned by Toyota — not the way people mean when they ask.
Usually it comes from someone who remembers Ford owned 33.4 percent of Mazda by 1995 and assumes the same relationship exists now with Toyota. Toyota holds a 5.05 percent stake, they built a $1.6 billion plant together in Huntsville, Alabama, they share technology. But the 5.05 percent stake tells a different story, and that story is worth understanding if you care about what Mazda is as a brand.
Toyota owns 5.05 percent of Mazda’s common stock, acquired for approximately 50 billion yen. Mazda owns 0.25 percent of Toyota’s. That’s not ownership. That’s a handshake with some paperwork attached.
Key Takeaways
Toyota holds a 5.05 percent minority stake in Mazda — a non-controlling investment, not an acquisition, while Mazda holds a reciprocal 0.25 percent of Toyota
The two companies share a $1.6 billion assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama, building the Mazda CX-50 and Toyota Corolla Cross on the same line, but each brand engineers its own powertrains and chassis tuning
For comparison: Ford owned 33.4 percent of Mazda by 1995 and controlled the company until 2015; Toyota’s stake is roughly one-sixth of that, with no board control
Table of Contents
The Short Answer: No, and Here’s Why
Toyota’s 5.05 percent stake isn’t a controlling interest. It’s a minority investment. For context, Toyota owns 100 percent of Daihatsu and 100 percent of Lexus. That’s what “owned by Toyota” looks like. Mazda is publicly traded. The company makes its own decisions.
The alliance agreement, signed August 4, 2017, was explicit about preserving independence and equality for both companies. After two years of collaborative discussions, neither side wanted a takeover. They wanted a partnership. Toyota bought its 5.05 percent for about 50 billion yen.
Mazda bought its 0.25 percent slice of Toyota. Mutual investment, mutual independence.
Mazda spent 36 years under Ford’s thumb. Ford initially acquired a 24.5 percent stake in 1979, increased it to 33.4 percent by May 1995, and ran the company until it sold its remaining shares by September 30, 2015. When people hear “Toyota has a stake in Mazda,” they assume the same dynamic. It’s not.
Passion, Not Just Paperwork
The 2017 alliance wasn’t announced at a sterile press conference with PowerPoint slides about synergies. Both CEOs made it clear this was a partnership between car people.
Akio Toyoda, who was Toyota’s CEO at the time, said: ‘The best outcome of our partnership with Mazda is discovering a new partner who truly loves cars.’ He admitted the partnership sparked some competitive spirit — he didn’t want to be bested by Mazda.
Masamichi Kogai, Mazda’s president then, said: ‘I would be most pleased if this alliance helps energize the auto industry and create more car fans.’ Not more cost savings. More fans.
The deal covered five areas: a joint U.S. factory, joint EV platform development, joint development of electric, connected, and advanced safety technologies, and swapping complementary products. It was framed as a collaboration between equals, and the quotes from both sides back that up.
The Alabama Plant: Shared Line, Different Souls
The Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) joint venture in Huntsville, Alabama, is the most visible proof that this partnership works without erasing identity. Formally established in March 2018, production started in 2021. It’s a $1.6 billion facility with 300,000 units of annual capacity (150,000 Mazda crossovers and 150,000 Toyota Corollas) and creates up to 4,000 jobs.
Here’s what happens inside: the Mazda CX-50 and Toyota Corolla Cross roll off the same assembly line at the MTM plant. Same robots, same paint booth, same logistics. But they’re not the same vehicle underneath.
Mazda uses its own Skyactiv engines and its own chassis tuning. Toyota engineers the Corolla Cross to its own specifications. The shared line saves money. The separate engineering preserves each brand’s character.
You can walk onto a dealer lot, drive a CX-50 and a Corolla Cross back to back, and feel the difference immediately. That’s the whole point.
This is Mazda’s first return to U.S. production since 1992. The plant gives them American manufacturing capacity and the scale they couldn’t achieve alone. But they didn’t give up their identity to get it.
From Cork to Control to Collaboration
Mazda’s history explains why people keep asking who owns them. The company has been through a lot of relationships.
It began on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. — a cork factory founded by Jujiro Matsuda. Yes, cork. The name “Mazda” comes from “Matsuda”, with a nod to Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian god of wisdom.
The first vehicle was a three-wheeled auto rickshaw called the Mazda-Go in 1931. First passenger cars came later — the Mazda R360 in 1960 and the Mazda Carol in 1962.
The 1960s brought the Wankel rotary engine, the technology that defined Mazda as an engineering-focused company. The Cosmo Sport launched in 1967 with a Wankel rotary engine. The RX-7 followed in 1978. Mazda became the only automaker to mass-produce rotary engines, and you can trace that full journey in this history of Mazda automobiles in North America. That’s the brand’s soul right there.
Then came the oil crisis. The rotary was a thirsty engine, and Mazda nearly collapsed. Ford stepped in, initially acquiring a 24.5 percent stake in Mazda in 1979. By May 1995, Ford’s stake reached 33.4 percent — enough to give Ford effective control.
For the next two decades, Mazda operated under Ford’s umbrella, raising the question: Is Mazda owned by Ford Motor Company? Some good came from it. Some of Mazda’s identity was diluted.
Ford began divesting in 2008 during the global financial crisis and sold its remaining shares by September 30, 2015. Mazda was independent again for the first time in nearly four decades. The Toyota partnership came two years later.
The key comparison: Ford’s 33.4 percent was effective control. Toyota’s 5.05 percent is collaboration. That’s the difference.
No, Mazdas Don’t Use Toyota Engines
Mazda does not use Toyota engines. The company uses its own Skyactiv engine family — a line of gasoline and diesel powertrains that emphasize high compression ratios and efficiency. The CX-50 built alongside the Corolla Cross in Alabama runs a Skyactiv engine. The Miata runs a Skyactiv engine. The CX-90 runs a Skyactiv inline-six.
There are platform-sharing arrangements on specific models. The current Mazda2 shares a platform with the Toyota Yaris in some markets. Mazda supplies a compact sedan to Toyota for the North American market. Toyota supplies a compact van to Mazda for Japan. These are product swaps between partners, not evidence of shared engineering.
Other common questions: Is Mazda owned by Nissan? No. Is Mazda owned by Honda? No. Mazda Motor Corporation is an independent, publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The only external stake worth talking about is Toyota’s 5.05 percent, and that stake doesn’t come with control.
What the Alliance Means for Mazda’s Future
The deeper question is whether the partnership changes the cars Mazda builds. The answer seems to be no, and the evidence is in what Mazda keeps doing.
Mazda still invests in Skyactiv engines. Mazda still builds the MX-5 Miata, introduced in 1989 and known for reviving the small sports car concept globally. Mazda is still working on Wankel rotary engine development, now as a range extender for future EVs. The rotary isn’t dead — it’s adapting.
The joint projects focus on EV platform development, connected-car technology, and advanced safety systems — areas where both companies benefit from scale. Mazda gets access to resources it couldn’t fund alone. Toyota gets a partner that pushes it to stay sharp.
There’s competitive tension built into the relationship, and that’s good for both brands.
The Bigger Picture: Why Toyota Didn’t Buy Mazda
Toyota could have bought Mazda. The world’s largest automaker, making about 10 million vehicles per year with revenue of ¥45.1 trillion (approx. US$400+ billion) in fiscal 2024, had the resources. But that’s not how Toyota operates.
The Toyota Way, the company’s corporate philosophy officially defined in 2001, emphasizes two principles: continuous improvement (kaizen) and respect for people. The Toyota Production System is famous for efficiency, but the underlying philosophy favors partnership over domination. Toyota has a history of joint ventures — NUMMI with GM, the current partnership with Subaru on the bZ4X and Solterra, the Mazda alliance signed August 4, 2017. They prefer collaboration to acquisition.
Toyota isn’t perfect. The 2009-2011 unintended acceleration recalls affected approximately 9 million vehicles and cost the company a $1.2 billion criminal penalty. Safety testing fraud at subsidiary Daihatsu was revealed in 2023-2024. Toyota has been criticized for slow adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) — their $70 billion investment in electrification and target of 30 BEV models by 2030, announced in December 2021, is a future promise, not a current reality.
The alliance with Mazda, signed August 4, 2017, isn’t a loophole or a stepping stone to acquisition. It’s how Toyota prefers to work.
The Bottom Line
Mazda is not owned by Toyota. The 5.05 percent stake is a minority investment, not a controlling interest. The business and capital alliance preserves independence and equality for both companies. Mazda retains its own Skyactiv engines, its own design language, its own driving character. The rotary program still exists.
The Miata still exists. The company still makes its own decisions.
But the numbers don’t lie, and the cars don’t lie. Mazda is independent. The partnership with Toyota makes it stronger without making it something else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mazda still making rotary engines?
Yes, Mazda is still developing the Wankel rotary engine, but now as a range extender for future electric vehicles rather than a primary powerplant. The rotary isn’t dead — it’s adapting to the EV era, which fits Mazda’s history of engineering-driven innovation that started with the Cosmo Sport in 1967.
