Mr Tsuchida, who has joined MNAO after more than 22 years of experience at Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, will oversee design operations including next-generation vehicle planning and brand strategy development.

His most recent role was chief designer of the latest generation of Mazda3, which launched in November 2018 and won the 2020 World Car Design of the Year award.

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

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

Mr Tsuchida, who is an avid surfer, nominated the RX-7 as his favourite Mazda.

MNAO is based in Irvine, California. It oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the US and Mexico through about 620 dealers.

By Neil Dowling