Tag Archives: director

Mazda

Rising Star Recognition for Bob Pan at Mazda

WASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 11, 2023) – Bob Pan, the Senior Director of Sales Planning & Supply Chain Innovation at Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), has been honored as a 2023 Rising Star by Automotive News.

The Rising Stars program acknowledges talented and dedicated executives in the U.S. automotive industry who are under the age of 45. These individuals have the potential to become future leaders in various sectors such as manufacturing, supply, mobility, and services.

Tom Donnelly, the President and CEO of MNAO, expressed pride in Bob Pan’s recognition as an Automotive News Rising Star. Donnelly credited Pan’s leadership for transforming Mazda’s operations in the United States and contributing significantly to the company’s growth in North America. Pan and his team utilize a data-driven approach that provides actionable insights.

Bob Pan began his journey at Mazda in 2008 and has been a part of the Sales Planning department. During his time there, he has revolutionized Mazda’s perspective on its business and challenged the organization to be more adaptable in deploying incentives and placing vehicles in markets with the highest potential. As a result, Mazda has achieved three consecutive annual market share records since 2019.

Pan also previously worked in Mazda’s Strategic Planning department, where he played a crucial role in developing and solidifying Mazda’s value creation strategy known as Brand Value Management. This new direction required Mazda to redefine its fundamental beliefs and set goals to increase both volume and transaction price, a rare accomplishment in the automotive industry.

Automotive News has been recognizing rising stars in the industry since 2014. This year’s honorees represent 24 companies and various disciplines, including executive management, purchasing, engineering, mobility, and design.

Mazda North American Operations, headquartered in Irvine, California, oversees the sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support for Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia through around 795 dealers. Mazda Canada Inc. manages operations in Canada, while Mazda Motor de Mexico and Mazda de Colombia handle operations in Mexico and Colombia, respectively.

For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

Stay updated with MNAO’s social media channels on Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA.

Contact:

Tamara Mlynarczyk, Mazda North American Operations, media@mazdausa.com
Drew Cary, Mazda North American Operations, media@mazdausa.com

News

GRT Yamaha WSBK Team Founder, Sporting Director Mirko Giansanti Dead At 46

Mirko Giansanti, the founder and sporting director of the GRT Yamaha team, passed away on August 7, 2023, after a long and serious illness. He was 46 years old. Before creating the Giansanti Racing Team (GRT) Yamaha in the World SuperSport (WSBK) series, Giansanti had a successful career as a racer.

Giansanti made his debut race as a wild card in the 1996 125cc Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. His impressive performance earned him three more rounds of racing that season and he even earned two points, despite not racing for the full season. In 1997, he became a full-time rider and consistently placed in the top ten in the riders’ championship. He achieved regular points and podium finishes, coming close to winning the race at Suzuka in 2003.

Throughout his career, Giansanti made 123 starts in the 125cc class before moving up to the 250cc class in 2005, where he also regularly scored points. From 2008 to 2012, he competed in World Supersport before eventually founding the GRT Yamaha team in 2016.

The GRT Yamaha team has seen several notable racers pass through its ranks since its establishment. Gino Rea helped the team podium in the World Supersport (WSSP) series in its first season, while Lucas Mahias won the WSSP title on a GRT Yamaha machine in 2017. In 2019, the team made the move to the World Superbike (WSBK) series, hiring Sandro Cortese and Marco Melandri. Melandri achieved podium finishes in the team’s first-ever WSBK race, and Garrett Gerloff added more podiums to the team’s record between 2020 and 2022. In 2023, Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner have been consistently running in the top ten for the GRT Yamaha team.

The GRT Yamaha team announced Giansanti’s death on its website, expressing their sadness and deep sorrow. They described Giansanti as a courageous and dignified individual who faced his final challenge with the same attributes that marked his racing career. They emphasized his love and passion for motorsport and promised to work harder to fulfill the common dream of taking the team to the top of the world.

Tributes have poured in from the motorcycling and motorsport community since the announcement of Giansanti’s passing. Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe road racing manager, acknowledged Giansanti’s contributions and expressed deep sadness at his loss. Moto journalist Simon Hargreaves also remembered Giansanti’s skills as a 125cc rider in the late 1990s and shared fond memories.

We extend our condolences to Mirko Giansanti’s family, friends, colleagues, fans, and all those who knew him and were touched by his presence.

Motorsport

Bugatti Honors Former Design Director With Tribute Video To His Work

Bugatti has created a tribute video to honor former design director Achim Anscheidt for his 19 years of guiding Bugatti design. The video showcases Anscheidt’s work on various Bugatti hypercars, including the Veyron and Chiron, as well as special editions and individual models. It also highlights the Bugatti Galibier concept, which unfortunately never made it into production due to Volkswagen, Bugatti’s parent company, not approving its design. The video also features the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept, which was initially created for the Gran Turismo Sport racing game but later became a real-life model using a Chiron prototype. Overall, the video pays homage to Anscheidt’s contributions to the world of Bugatti design.

BMW

BMW Group Plant Regensburg achieves production milestone: 1,000,000th BMW X1 manufactured on site

+++ Landmark vehicle is fully-electric BMW iX1 in Alpine White +++ Plant Director Carsten Regent: “BMW Group in Regensburg builds highly attractive electric vehicles for the premium compact class – BMW iX1 is very popular with customers around the world”

Regensburg. The BMW Group’s Regensburg location celebrated a significant production milestone as the one-millionth BMW X1 rolled off the assembly line. The milestone vehicle is a BMW iX1 electric vehicle (EV) in Alpine White. The BMW X1 is BMW’s smallest Sports Activity Vehicle and the first fully-electric model produced at the Regensburg location in November 2022.

“The BMW iX1 is proof that we can build highly attractive electric vehicles for the premium compact class at our plant in Regensburg. This is a very popular car with customers around the world,” says Plant Director Carsten Regent. “We have the flexibility to produce different types of drivetrain for the BMW X1 on a single production line – models with a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid systems, as well as a pure electric drivetrain, to meet different market requirements worldwide.”

The pure electric BMW iX1 xDrive30* from Regensburg topped this year’s readers’ choice for “Best Cars 2023” by the trade journal auto, motor und sport, securing best-in-class in the compact SUV segment. From the end of this year, the Regensburg plant will also produce the fully-electric BMW iX2 for the high-volume compact class.

The BMW Group will invest over 350 million euros in vehicle production in Regensburg by the end of the year, creating permanent jobs for around 500 new employees. The plant is currently operating at full capacity and plans to add an additional night shift and transition to three-shift operation in November. Up to 1,000 units of the BMW 1 Series, BMW X1, and BMW X2 models are produced daily at Plant Regensburg.

BMW Group Plant Regensburg recently became the first plant worldwide in the automotive industry to use an end-to-end digitalized and automated process for inspecting, processing, and marking painted vehicle surfaces, utilizing AI-controlled robots. The entire plant was digitally measured in 3D as part of a pilot project in 2022, enabling efficient planning of future plant structures and production facilities.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Saskia Graser

BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Acting head of Communications Regensburg and Wackersdorf
Cell phone: +49 151 6040 3232
Email: Saskia.Graser@bmw.de
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de

BMW Group Plants Regensburg and Wackersdorf
The BMW Group vehicle plant in Regensburg has been in operation since 1986 and is one of more than 30 BMW Group production locations worldwide. The plant manufactures up to 1,000 vehicles daily, including different drivetrain options, and is supported by the nearby electric component production facility. The BMW Group cockpit production and parts supply for overseas plants are based at BMW Innovation Park Wackersdorf, which also houses other companies. The two locations employ approximately 9,000 employees, including over 300 apprentices.

www.bmwgroup-werke.com/regensburg/de.html

BMW iX1 xDrive30:
Power consumption combined (WLTP): 18.1-16.8 kWh/100 km;
CO2 emissions: 0 g/km; NEDC data: –

BMW X1 xDrive30e:
Fuel consumption combined: 1.0-0.7-litre/100 km; power consumption combined: 16.9 kWh-14.7 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 23-16 g/km (WLTP); NEDC data: –

BMW X1 xDrive23i:
Fuel consumption combined: 7.2-6.5 litre/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 163-146 g/km (WLTP); NEDC data: –

News

MG Cyberster to be showcased at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The highly anticipated MG Cyberster, designed by Carl Gotham, the design director of MG, will be unveiled at the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. Gotham, who leads the brand’s advanced design group based in London’s Marylebone, acknowledges the increase in size of the car but believes it carries it well and creates a new kind of roadster that will appeal to a new generation of sports car drivers.

The main objective of the Cyberster is to establish the design language for future MG models. While MG will continue to focus on SUVs and estates, the Cyberster is set to be more than just another sports car in their lineup.

The response to the Cyberster has been overwhelming, with MG receiving numerous requests from potential buyers. MG’s British dealers, who are expected to reach around 150 in number, have also shown great enthusiasm for the new model.

Contrary to popular belief, the Cyberster is not solely focused on volume sales. It serves as an image-builder for the brand, with estimated UK sales of around 2000 units per year once demand stabilizes.

Read more: Best small electric car in the UK

In addition to offering great value for money and an extensive new car distribution network, strong brand recognition plays a critical role in MG’s success. The positive response to the Cyberster from older buyers has been particularly remarkable, as there is a large and active group of buyers who still have a deep affinity for the MG brand and remember its past excitement and promise.

MG’s sales in the UK have been consistently growing, with over 51,000 units sold in 2022, surpassing their sales from five years ago by more than five times. The growth of MG across Europe has been even more impressive, as sales are projected to reach 120,000 units by the end of 2023, compared to less than 1000 units in 2019.

Q&A with Carl Gotham, MG’s head of design

Carl Gotham, who trained in design at Coventry University in 1999, joined MG a decade later. He has worked in both interior and exterior design before assuming his current role in 2017. In 2018, he established the advanced studio in Marylebone, where all the hard work has been leading up to the development of the Cyberster.

How did the Cyberster project start?