Mazda Motor Corporation (Japanese: マツダ株式会社; short name "Mazda") is a Japanese automaker founded January 30, 1920 (originally Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.; renamed Mazda in 1984). It is headquartered at 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima, Japan, with North American operations based in Irvine, California. Mazda is independently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market (ticker 7261; US OTC: MZDAF) and is not a subsidiary, though Toyota holds a minority stake under a capital alliance. Public sources put consolidated employees at roughly 47,000–49,000 and recent annual revenue near ¥5.0 trillion (about US$32–33 billion).
Operations. Mazda manufactures and sells passenger cars and commercial vehicles, engines, and parts, primarily for Japan, North America, Europe, and China. Its lineup spans internal-combustion, mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and diesel models (Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-series SUVs, and the MX-5 roadster), built on its SkyActiv engine and platform families; it also produces engines and vehicles through manufacturing joint ventures, including Mazda Toyota Manufacturing in Alabama. Revenue comes from vehicle sales, financing, and aftermarket parts.
Patent-litigation posture. The tracked data show 1 case, all as defendant, 0 as plaintiff — the profile of an operating company being attacked rather than a two-way litigant or an NPE. The sole tracked matter is Daedalus Prime LLC v. Mazda Motor Corporation et al., filed 2022-08-23 in the District of Delaware before Judge Andrews. Unified Patents classifies plaintiff Daedalus Prime LLC as an NPE/patent-assertion entity (corporate parent: Daedalus Group, LLC; address in Bronxville, NY).
Case context. In that Delaware action Mazda was named alongside Mercedes-Benz entities, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Visteon. The asserted patents (U.S. 8,775,833; 8,898,494; 9,575,895; 10,049,080; 10,394,300; 10,705,588) concern semiconductor/memory packaging and processor technology, with the accused products described as MediaTek chipsets in Visteon infotainment systems used in Mazda vehicles. A parallel ITC complaint naming Mazda was not instituted as to Mazda. The case reflects automotive supply-chain patent risk in infotainment/electronics rather than Mazda's own patenting activity.