Mazda Unifies Model-Based Development and CAD Storage With Dell AI Tools

At Dell Technologies World this week, Mazda Motor Corporation announced that it has deployed Dell PowerScale, part of the Dell AI Data Platform, to unify its model-based development and CAD storage environments into a "scalable infrastructure designed to evolve into a data lake supporting AI and generative AI workloads." The solution will help improve management of the several hundred terabytes of simulation data the company generates annually, while also positoning Mazda to consolidate and scale the rising volumes of engineering data it will need for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.

By consolidating decades of engineering data on PowerScale, the company says, Mazda can surface new insights and establish a foundation for advanced AI capabilities in an increasingly software-defined automotive industry. Dell’s prior supercomputer deployment for Mazda analysis workloads made this next step possible.

“The volume and complexity of data in modern vehicle development demands infrastructure that can scale with your ambitions, not just your current workload,” said Yuichi Tetsumoto, staff manager, Engineering Systems, MDI and IT Headquarters, Mazda. “PowerScale gave us the foundation to consolidate decades of engineering data and position Mazda to put AI and generative AI to work across our development pipeline.”

According to a press release, Mazda chose Dell PowerScale due to its performance and scale to handle two distinct requirements within a single scale-out NAS solution: large capacity for model-based development data and high performance for CAD workloads. 

Dell's InsightIQ provides unified AIOps-driven observability across the environment, giving Mazda's team a single view of storage health and utilization. Meanwhile, SnapshotIQ protects against accidental data deletion and SyncIQ supports inter-chassis replication for business continuity.

The infrastructure went into full operation in December 2025. Total storage capacity expanded from approximately 4 petabytes to 10 petabytes, eliminating dependence on tape media for data offload. Recurring issues around capacity shortages and performance degradation were resolved.

The consolidation reduced storage costs per unit by 90%. The operational management burden dropped significantly as capacity allocation inquiries and performance-related tickets decreased. Critical design and development data is now protected through automated replication, the company says.

Moving forward, Mazda plans to use PowerScale to support a data lake for AI workloads. The consolidated environment gives Mazda's engineering teams direct access to decades of accumulated design and development data. That access is what makes it possible to train models, surface patterns and accelerate innovation across Mazda's end-to-end vehicle development pipeline. Dell PowerScale is the foundation that makes that ambition possible.

“Mazda has 30 years of simulation data shaping automobile design. The challenge was never storing that data, it was unlocking it,” said Travis Vigil, senior vice president, Product Management, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. “PowerScale delivers the performance to feed workloads like CAD today and the capabilities to power AI tomorrow, helping Mazda turn its data into fuel for what’s next.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.