Automakers used to think cars in pastel colors with floral-patterned seats were key to attracting female buyers.
But the battle to win over women has become more intense: one company has female employees designing a new car; another has launched a sales campaign targeting women and a third has a working group looking at overall strategy.
"What makes women feel happy differs from what makes men feel happy," said Tamiyo Takabe, one of four female concept planners at Mazda Motor Corp. She was in charge of initial planning for the Verisa compact, released in June.