Mazda - then Toyo Kogyo Corporation - needed to create a unique technology that would differentiate it among a rapidly globalising Japanese automotive industry in order to stay independent. In 1961, Mazda licensed NSU Motorenwerke AG and Wankel GmbH's rotary engine technology, sharing learnings with the German companies in hopes of making wider use of the engine. Once the prototype rotary engine arrived in Hiroshima, testing began. Unfortunately, within the first hour of running, the engine seized. Mazda had wagered its entire existence on this one engine technology; failure would not be an option, but early impressions meant there was much to be done to keep Mazda afloat.