Yahoo Finance Mazda Trademarks a New Logo That's Flatter and More Angular
Mazda has been granted a trademark for a new logo in Japan.
The logo is similar to the existing badge but has a flatter look with more angular wings.
The new logo appears as Mazda attempts to shift towards producing more luxurious vehicles.
Mazda has been making a bid to move upmarket. Over the past several years, the Japanese automaker has shifted away from the youthful, sporty vibes once communicated by its famous "zoom zoom" tagline in favor of more sophisticated vehicles like the stylish and well-appointed CX-90 SUV. Now it appears that Mazda is readying a revised logo to accompany this luxury-focused rebrand, with Mazda recently filing for a new trademark in Japan.
The new badge isn't a radical departure from the existing Mazda emblem, retaining the same general shape and winged "M" centerpiece. However, the outer ring is now more circular than current logo's slightly squared-off look, while the wings that form the "M" shape inside are more angular and less flowing. The new logo also ditches the three dimensional look in favor of a flat appearance.
Mazda's new logo may have already been hiding in plain sight. The trademarked image looks very similar to the Mazda badge worn by the Arata concept, a sleek SUV shown at the Beijing auto show in April. The change was subtle enough that we didn't pick up on it then, but comparing the concept's illuminated badge now reveals a resemblance. It could be possible, however, that this new logo is exclusive to China, where Mazda has a joint venture with Chinese automaker Changan.
Still, we expect the logo change to be the key piece in a global rebrand. Now that Mazda has been granted the trademark, we wouldn't be surprised to see the new badge make its way onto new Mazda vehicles within the next year. Mazda's current logo has been around since 1997, when the brand moved away from 1990s look which had a circle sitting within an oval.
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