Mazda launched their AZ-1 in October 1992 and made 3867 cars. On the Japanese homemarket Mazda works closely together with Suzuki building mini cars. In a jointventure Suzuki launched the same car by the name of Cara in January 1993 and produced only 537 cars.

The badge engineering isn't unusual because most small cars Mazda sells in Japan are re-badged Suzuki. So it is not a a surprise that the AZ-1 used mechanical parts of Suzuki. The only difference between the two models are the foglights in the bumper. The AZ-1 doesn't have a foglight.

The reason for the limited production was not its performance. But was due to the depression that hit the Japanese economy in that time. Its performance was really superior than any other K-class car, but its price was too expensive.