Eunos (automobile)

Eunos
Company typeDivision
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1989
Defunct1996
FateDefunct
Headquarters,
Area served
  • Japan
  • Australia
ProductsAutomobiles
ParentMazda

Eunos (ユーノス, Yūnosu) was a marque of Japanese automaker Mazda, marketed as its upscale, fun to drive line. The brand existed in Japan from 1989 to 1996, when sales operations were integrated into ɛ̃fini, and Australia from 1992 to 1996, when it was integrated into the main Mazda model range as a premium sub-brand.[1]

History

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In the late 1980s, Mazda diversified in the Japan market with the launch of three new marques. The company created Autozam, Eunos, and ɛ̃fini, in addition to the Mazda and Ford brands already marketed by it there.

The Eunos marque, was marketed as a fun to drive, upscale brand compared to entry level Autozam, traditional Mazda products, and exclusive luxury brand ɛ̃fini. The name was derived for the ancient Greek "eu" meaning "good" and "nos", an abbreviation of "numbers" in English, meant to signify a number, or assortment, of good things. The Marque was launched in Japan with the Eunos 500 in January, 1992 and many of the vehicles created were exported to other markets.

From 1991 until 1996, when the Eunos dealership was integrated into Mazda locations, Citroën products were sold to Japanese buyers, as well as Mazda's ɛ̃fini locations.

This experiment was ended in the mid-1990s. Some of the vehicles sold under the Eunos brand were intended to be sold in North America under the Amati brand, but due to economic conditions, largely attributed to the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in 1991, Amati was not launched.

The Eunos name was brought back in 2020 for a limited edition of the Mazda MX-5 in France as the MX-5 Eunos Edition, a nod to how the original MX-5 was sold as the Eunos Roadster in Japan.[2]

Vehicles

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Eunos sold the following vehicles, all on common Mazda platforms:

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References

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  1. ^ "25 years of failures: The car brands that didn't succeed in Australia, Part I". carexpert.com.au. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  2. ^ "MAZDA LANCE SA SERIE LIMITEE MX-5 EUNOS EDITION". fr.mazda-press.com (in French). 6 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
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