Very cool interview, I do recall (very briefly) meeting Moro san probably around 2018 when they were releasing the new Mazda3, he was visiting dealers in the Northeast and stopped my dealerships with several other Mazda Japan employees, just the kindest, most respectful people I've ever met.
We have been concerned about the inventory pipeline with port Baltimore, glad to hear he seems to be not very concerned and are re-routing their shipments. I'm curious exactly which ports they are going to, I'm sure I will be finding out from our dealers soon enough.
Last thought, I always love Mazda as a brand, they truly practice what they preach and really love their customers. I do believe he is genuine in the customer-first approach, Mazda has always been slow to roll out new tech especially related to drivetrains (hello long lived 6 speed autos!) but I always interpreted it as Mazda being keen on perfecting anything new before releasing it and focusing more on exactly what their customers enjoy, over chasing regulatory requirements and eeking out numbers as top priority. The competitors have a CVT? The competitors just increased their MPG by 1? The competitors just pushed out another 10 horsepower rating? Cool, our customers love our 6 speed autos and engines tuned for engagement the way our customers are used to and enjoy.
Of course some of this has been lost to their move upmarket, but I respect their design changes and quite frankly they are becoming more profitable from it - more profit means better products means we get more cool cars from a Manufacturer that knows how to make really cool cars with passion. Also, what other manufacturer completely switched to a rear-bias straight six engine platform in modern times from a FWD I4 platform? Go Mazda!