Mazda North America Names Tsuchida Head of Design

Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) announces the appointment of Yasutake Tsuchida as Senior Director of Design, effective immediately. In this role Tsuchida will oversee design operations, including next-generation vehicle planning and brand strategy development.

Tsuchida joins the MNAO team with more than 22 years of experience at Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan. He most recently served as chief designer of the latest generation of Mazda3, which launched in November 2018 and went on to win the 2020 World Car Design of the Year award.

He also was chief designer of the Kai Concept, and in the late 2000s Tsuchida worked in the Design Studio at MNAO, where he led design on the Furai concept car.

Tsuchida began his career at Mazda specializing in exterior design and in the late 1990s and early 2000s was lead designer for the Mazda3, CX-7 and the Ryuga concept car.

Tsuchida’s approach to design focuses on timeless beauty, and in his designs he aspires to evoke strong human emotion to give them energy and enthusiasm, Mazda says in a news release. His favorite Mazda is the RX-7, and he is an avid surfer. 

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, CA, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the U.S. and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers.