Mazda
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 14 sources
Japanese carmaker from Hiroshima selling SUVs such as the CX-5, cars and utes.
Mazda's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2022, and there's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in China and Thailand is below a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelter. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2022) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as China and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelterShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Mazda makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 54% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| China | Not given | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Thailand | 18% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| GermanyUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | 1% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on battery metals such as cobalt and nickel from mines and smelters where workers, including children, face deadly collapses and explosions, and on aluminium that may come from Xinjiang, where the state forces Uyghur workers into mines and smelters that audits can't reach. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its battery metals to the mine or its aluminium to the smelter, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Most Mazdas sold in Australia are built in Japan (the CX-5 in Hiroshima and the Mazda 2 at Hofu), with the CX-3 (15,429 sales in 2025) from Thailand and the 6e electric sedan from China; shares are rough estimates from reported sales. Mazda assembles most of them in its own plants; the 6e is built in China on a Changan platform. Mazda sends conflict minerals surveys to about 300 suppliers and had third-party dialogues with foreign workers and technical interns at suppliers in 2024, which raised wage, safety and housing concerns, but it publishes no smelter list, isn't an IRMA member and shows no tracing of battery metals or aluminium. Mazda Australia's own statement describes contract terms and internal monitoring, with no audit results.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Not listed | Not scored in the Lead the Charge 2026 auto supply chain leaderboard, which rates 18 carmakers. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Not listed | Not among the 13 electric car makers in Amnesty International's 2024 Recharge for Rights ranking. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Mazda Australia Pty Ltd lodges its own modern slavery statement (signed June 2025); it rates office cleaning, promotional goods and some vehicle manufacturing as highest risk and relies on contract terms and internal monitoring, with no third-party audits described. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium from China and the auto parts made with it (forced labour) and lithium-ion batteries from China (made with child labour inputs); Mazda's 6e electric sedan is built in China, while Japan and Thailand have no vehicle entries. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Mazda is not on the UFLPA Entity List (October 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Lists Mazda among car brands traced to companies involved in Uyghur forced labour in the Sheffield Hallam Driving Force report (2022); Mazda did not respond. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report traced supply chains from companies involved in Uyghur forced labour in steel, aluminium and copper to major car brands, including Mazda (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · archived copy | Not knownMazda did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's request for a response. |
Sources and actions
Sources 14
Show all 14 sources
- Report traces supply chain from companies involved in Uyghur abuses to major car brands (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2023) · archived copy · Sheffield Hallam and NomoGaia's Driving Force report; Mazda did not respond
- Scorecards 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · Mazda is not among the 18 carmakers scored
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · Mazda is not an IRMA member
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, page 32 (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Lithium-ion batteries from China made with child labour inputs
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Aluminium from China and auto parts made with it
- UFLPA Entity List (US Department of Homeland Security) · search the archive · Mazda is not listed
- Where Australia's top 10 cars are made (CarExpert, March 2025) · search the archive · CX-5 (22,835 sales in 2024) built at Mazda's head-office plant in Hiroshima, Japan
- Why Mazda is about to get less Japanese (CarsGuide, January 2026) · search the archive · Mazda 6e and CX-6e are China-built; most Australian sales are combustion models led by the CX-5
- Amnesty: BYD scores worst on human rights in EV makers ranking (NewMobility, 2024) · search the archive · Mazda is not among the 13 companies ranked
- Mazda CX-3 discontinued in Japan, Australian supply to continue (Cars24, February 2026) · search the archive · Australian CX-3s come from Thailand; 15,429 sold in 2025; Mazda 2 production continuing at Hofu, Japan
Published by Mazda or its owner
- Mazda Australia Pty Ltd modern slavery statement (Australian Modern Slavery Register, 2025) · search the archive · Mazda Australia's statement, signed June 2025; risk areas; no third-party audits or minerals described
- Respect for human rights (Mazda Motor Corporation) · search the archive · Conflict minerals surveys to about 300 suppliers; CRT dialogues with foreign workers at suppliers in 2024; JaCER membership from June 2025
- Supply chain management (Mazda Motor Corporation) · search the archive · Evaluations of 270 suppliers in FY March 2025; no smelter list, battery mineral or aluminium tracing described
- Mazda modern slavery report 2025-2026 (Mazda Canada) · search the archive · Mazda Supplier Sustainability Guidelines prohibit child and forced labour; human rights impact assessments with Caux Round Table Japan
Company details
- Owned by
- Mazda Motor Corporation
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 48,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Mazda ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/mazda, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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