Mazda Uses AI To Slash Development Time And Boost Efficiency
Mazda has confirmed that it's now using generative AI to accelerate both vehicle design and early development stages, trimming weeks — even months — off its traditional timelines. The Japanese automaker, known for doing things its own stubborn way, says the technology is being deployed for design sketches, structural modelling, and data analysis. This move comes as part of a broader pivot toward modernization, even as Mazda remains one of the few carmakers still resisting the electric bandwagon.
The AI toolset isn't just a fancy gimmick. It's a practical leap forward for a company that's long prioritized lean operations and lightweight performance over flashy tech for the sake of it. Rather than outsourcing early design to external agencies or relying on slow legacy systems, Mazda's in-house teams can now feed prompts into generative tools and get hundreds of design variants in minutes — dramatically reducing turnaround times during critical planning phases.
Still Selling More Without An EV In Sight
While others are pushing EVs and monthly software subscriptions, Mazda is out there… selling actual cars. In fact, Mazda's gas-powered SUV lineup is smashing records, with the company expected to break its U.S. sales figures from 1986 by the end of 2025. That's over 450,000 cars — mostly crossovers — sold without a single pure EV in the catalogue. It's a gutsy move, but clearly one that's working.The company's top brass have credited this success to their strategic focus on practical, affordable vehicles. Mazda hasn't chased headlines with EV moonshots. Instead, it has honed its core offerings — compact and mid-size SUVs — into sharp, competitive packages that consumers still want. And now, by injecting AI into the workflow, Mazda's design and engineering departments are getting faster, sharper, and even more cost-efficient.
Gas Isn't Dead — Just Smarter
Despite all the electrification chatter, Mazda hasn't turned its back on internal combustion. Far from it. Engineers are currently developing a next-generation SKYACTIV-Z engine that promises major leaps in both efficiency and power. Instead of scrapping petrol outright, the company's aim is to burn it smarter — with leaner mixtures, lower emissions, and clever thermal efficiency gains. It's basically Mazda doing Mazda things: taking an old idea and making it quietly brilliant.That same philosophy explains why Mazda hasn't abandoned the small car market or jacked up its prices like everyone else. In fact, Mazda's strategy around affordability is becoming something of a rarity. While rivals chase margins and bloat their lineups with tech-laden behemoths, Mazda continues to offer fun, efficient, well-built cars that don't cost more than a small yacht. Radical, apparently.
A Quiet Tech Revolution
Mazda might not shout about its tech the way Tesla or Hyundai do, but its approach to AI is a sign of where the brand is headed — and how it plans to stay relevant. It's not abandoning what makes Mazdas great: simplicity, precision, and value. It's just building those things faster and smarter.And if that means your next MX-5 or CX-5 arrives a year sooner, built better and designed with input from an AI that's eaten 40 years of sports car geometry? Well, that doesn't sound half bad.
Mazda Uses AI To Slash Development Time And Boost Efficiency first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 24, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Better EV Stock: Alphabet vs. Tesla (Hint: Robotaxis Are the Key)
Key Points The future of the auto industry lies in electric vehicles and ridesharing in autonomous vehicles. After many years in service, Waymo still can't point to a timeline of profitability. Tesla also faces challenges with its robotaxi offering, but it's well positioned, provided it can demonstrate safety and efficacy. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) isn't, strictly speaking, an electric vehicle (EV) company. However, its autonomous driving technology company, Waymo, is committed to only using EVs in its fleet. Funnily enough, it could be argued that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) isn't really a pure EV company either. After all, most of its sky–high valuation is attributable to the potential of its robotaxis. However, the comparison of these two as EV companies is valid because the future of the auto industry is EVs, and ridesharing in autonomous vehicles will be a larger part of the industry in the future. But which company is better placed, and which is the better stock? Alphabet vs. Tesla It's entirely possible that Alphabet could decide to spin off Waymo, not least because it reportedly could be valued at more than $45 billion. Meanwhile, one of Tesla's biggest supporters, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest, ascribes 88% of Tesla's enterprise value (market cap plus net debt) to robotaxis in its investment case for the stock, producing an expected value of $2,600 for the stock in 2029. As I have previously discussed, the Ark targets should be taken with a pinch of salt, as its track record on Tesla hasn't been good. However, Ark's core argument is sound and points to Tesla being potentially a far more valuable stock than Waymo ever will be. Pathways to profitability The core argument is that Tesla's business model is scalable to profitability while Waymo's is far less so. The issue of Waymo's profitability arose in a recent CNBC interview with Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, where she was asked whether Waymo is profitable. She replied, "We're proving out that it can be a profitable business." When asked when Waymo would be profitable, she replied, "not clear." It's also not clear if Alphabet/Waymo doesn't have an internal forecast for when it will hit profitability, or if Mawakana preferred not to divulge what the company considers an uncertain forecast. However, it's inconceivable that Alphabet is not internally crunching the numbers on this, and if it does decide to spin off Waymo, it's a question that needs to be answered. The point here is that a business that can't be profitable isn't worth anything, let alone $45 billion, so at some point, its management is going to have to set some timelines. Tesla and timelines Whereas investors need to hear more about timelines from Waymo, whose public self-driving ride-hailing service was launched in 2018, there's probably a need for fewer declared timelines from Tesla, or, rather, a need for more accurate ones. For example, in 2019, CEO Elon Musk famously told investors to expect a million self-driving vehicles on the road by mid-2020. In April 2022, he also stated that Tesla aspired to reach volume production of a dedicated robotaxi (Cybercab) in 2024 -- a timeline that has now been pushed back to 2026. These timeline estimates matter because plugging overly optimistic assumptions from them into valuation models can produce dramatically erroneous conclusions. Why Tesla is better positioned With all that said, Tesla has clear advantages over Waymo, provided it can demonstrate safety and reliability and achieve regulatory approvals. Its advantages include: Lower vehicle costs, with Musk aiming for a $30,000 price tag for a dedicated robotaxi, the Cybercab. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts estimate Waymo's current vehicles cost more than $120,000. In addition, Tesla manufactures its own cars (Waymo does not), and existing Teslas can be converted into robotaxis using Tesla's as-yet-unreleased-to-the-public unsupervised full self-driving (FSD) software, giving Tesla a significant advantage in scaling the robotaxi business. Tesla's use of camera-centric technology is inherently less expensive than Waymo's combination of cameras, light detection and ranging (Lidar) lasers, and high-definition maps. Every Tesla car (robotaxi or not) on the road is effectively a data gatherer, with the data used to improve the AI that powers its AI models. As such, even though Waymo was first, Tesla has significantly more data than Waymo. Which is the better EV stock? Waymo may become profitable in the future, particularly if Lidar costs continue to drop. However, it's challenging to think that it will be a strong competitor to Tesla, provided Musk's company can master safe, unsupervised FSD using a camera-centric approach. That's a big "if" at this stage, but it becomes a smaller "if" as time goes by and Tesla expands its nascent robotaxi offering across new geographies. Tesla's next robotaxi launch is expected to be in Phoenix, as it plans to continue slowly building its robotaxi business. I think Tesla is the better EV stock when comparing Tesla and Alphabet. Should you buy stock in Tesla right now? The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better EV Stock: Alphabet vs. Tesla (Hint: Robotaxis Are the Key) was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Haves and have-nots': The stock market thinks more consumers are reaching a breaking point
Consumer stocks are falling out of favor with US investors. While the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) is trading at record highs and up nearly 10% year to date, the Consumer Discretionary (XLY) sector, often viewed as a bellwether for household health, is trailing far behind. The sector is up a modest 0.3% this year, making it second-worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 this year, ahead of only Health Care (XLV). High interest rates, shifting spending patterns, and economic uncertainty have weighed heavily on the group, which houses recognizable names like Nike (NKE), Target (TGT), and Home Depot (HD), as well as Magnificent Seven giants Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon (AMZN). "I still think that we have a bit of a K-shaped economy," Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, pointing to the growing disparity between high- and low-income households. "You're seeing it in a lot of the travel-related stocks with concerns particularly around lower-end income consumers. ... It's the haves and have-nots, both at the consumer level and the stock level." This week's earnings added fresh weight to that thesis. Chipotle (CMG) shares sank double digits after the company reported a larger-than-expected drop in same-store sales and traffic, slashing its full-year outlook. Hilton (HLT) also fell after reporting a decline in US room revenue that weighed on sentiment, and Hasbro (HAS) slid after warning of continued promotional pressure and delaying product rollouts due to consumer price sensitivity. Eric Freedman, chief investment officer at US Bank Asset Management Group, said the recent moves reflect a bifurcated consumer landscape and that companies catering to more price-sensitive shoppers will need to work harder to capture demand. "This is a hyper-promotional environment to get people, especially lower-income and lower-middle-income consumers, to spend money," he told Yahoo Finance. "You have to be out with deals." Airlines, which are housed in the Industrials sector but have significant consumer exposure, have also suggested a softer spending environment in recent reports. American Airlines (AAL) stock fell after CEO Robert Isom echoed the weakness seen by peer Southwest (LUV), citing softer domestic travel demand last quarter. "Let's face it, the domestic network has been under stress because of the uncertainty in the economy and the reluctance of domestic passengers to get in the game," Isom said on Thursday. Meanwhile, companies catering to wealthier consumers have held up far better. JPMorgan (JPM) and American Express (AXP) both pointed to continued strength in consumer spending, particularly among higher-income households. Notably, their stocks, along with the broader Financials (XLF) sector, have outperformed since the April bottom. Bank of America data shows Industrials and Financials drew the largest inflows last week, underscoring investor appetite for cyclical names with strong earnings momentum. Consumer Discretionary, meanwhile, saw the biggest outflows. Still, with risk-on sentiment rippling through markets, from surging crypto bets to the return of the meme trade, even some of 2025's laggards could be poised for a second look. In a note to clients on Tuesday, Bespoke Investment Group flagged 21 S&P 500 stocks — including Consumer Discretionary names Tesla (TSLA), D.R. Horton (DHI), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), and Mohawk Industries (MHK) — that are down 30% or more from their 52-week highs, yet are trading above rising 50-day moving averages. That signals some beaten-down names may be starting to build short-term momentum, even as longer-term pressures persist. The outlook for consumers, however, remains fragile. "Consumer spending is down but not out," Oxford Economics deputy chief US economist Michael Pearce wrote following June's stronger-than-expected retail sales report last week. "The first half of the year was one to forget for most consumer-facing firms, and we expect there is a bit more pain to come before conditions begin to improve heading into 2026." Allie Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tesla (TSLA) Misses on Q2 Earnings, But Morgan Stanley Still Says Buy
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the . On July 24, Morgan Stanley reiterated the stock as 'Overweight' with a $410 price target. Morgan Stanley says Tesla remains a top pick following the company's earnings report on Wednesday. The electric vehicle maker reported a top and bottom line miss on second-quarter results, with automotive revenue falling 16% year-on-year to $16.7 billion. While Analyst Adam Jonas is a well-known Tesla bull, he has lowered his fiscal year 2025 earnings per share expectations by 14% as opposed to prior forecasts. Lower deliveries and higher operating expenses have caused this change. '2Q numbers were a slight beat with FCF near break-even. Tesla is crossing the chasm to autonomy while absorbing slower volume, EV incentive elimination, tariffs and investing in new initiatives that may not make margins for years." Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is an automotive and clean energy company that leverages advanced artificial intelligence in its autonomous driving technology and robotics initiatives. While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
