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Nice to see May sales of 7128. Getting less exclusive every month!
good to seeWow. I guess all those positive reviews are kicking in. I have not researched it yet, but what is the most popular Mazda model? How many units do they typically sell? Is Mazda bigger than some of those smaller Japanese brands such as Acura (I know, sort of apples and oranges...but that is a brand that I can think of that is a notch below Lexus and Infiniti. Maybe, how does Mazda compare to Subaru?
tobeychris
Member
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- Mazda CX-5 GT with Tech Package
You think Acura and Lexus are small brands? You know they're Honda and Toyota respectively, right?
costermonger
Member
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- CX-5
Last year, Mazda sold almost 350,000 cars in North America. By a wide, wide margin the Mazda 3 is the brand's best seller, accounting for nearly half the sales most years (162,000 in 2012). The CX-5 is second, with about 54,000, and Mazda6 rounds out the pack at slightly more than 38,000.
Subaru is the closest brand in sales volume to Mazda, having sold 367,000 cars in NA last year (though in Canada it's not even close; Mazda sells more than twice as many cars as Subaru there). Subaru's model sales numbers are really interesting compared to Mazda, as they don't have a single model that sells anywhere near as well as the Mazda 3, but all of the Imprezza, Forester, Outback sell significantly more than the CX-5.
Compared to other Japanese companies, Mazda's sales volumes (in North America) are about 4.5 times that of Mitsubishi, 11 times that of Suzuki, 1/3rd that of Nissan, a little more than 1/4 of Honda and 1/5th of Toyota. Mazda does move more cars than any of the sub-brands like Lexus, Infiniti and Acura.
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- 23 CX-5 Premium
Don't let Mazda's relative success in the US market fool you. This is a company with big problems from a global perspective. That's why they're frantically looking for a partner to replace Ford. For an excellent discussion of these issues, see "Doom-Doom?" in the Up-front column of the July, 2013 issue of Car & Driver.
Whoa! Careful with the facts and figures there. Some forum members think it's bad form to look up actual facts. Better to just stick with pre-conceived notions, loll!
We don't need no stinkin' facts. We's gots common sense...(yupnope)
costermonger
Member
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- CX-5
Compared to a year ago, they're in great shape. The strong yen hurt them for a long time, but now the yen is weak. This has dramatically increased the value of the company and they haven't posted billion dollar losses for the first time in years. That said, with their return to profitability, they need to expand their non-Japanese manufacturing capacity (probably by, as you say, signing on with a new partner) to insulate their financial state from the dollar/yen exchange a little bit. They're more susceptible to financial market effects than any other Japanese car-maker, and it is entirely because they build such a high percentage of their cars in Japan, and then sell such a high percentage of those cars overseas. It was never really a lack of sales that was their problem, just insufficient profit on the sales they had.
I just don't want to see them back with FoMoCo. I owned a Flat Rock-built Mazda and it didn't seem to be quite up to the production standards of the Hiroshima-built cars.
deepfriedsushi
Member
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- 95 Miata, 14 CX5 Touring FWD, 18 CX9 GT FWD
I think this is why Mazda is partnering with Toyota for the next gen Mazda2 and supposedly Yaris. The Mazda2 will actually be underpinning the yaris and built in the new factory that Mazda is building in Mexico. http://blog.caranddriver.com/next-generation-mazda-2-and-a-subcompact-toyota-to-be-produced-at-mazdas-mexican-plant/
This is one of the steps they're taking to insulate themselves from the currency fluctuations. The weak yen is only a temporary condition that was put in place by the Japanese government.
I think I also read somewhere that the next mazda3 could possibly also be built in Mexico too. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2015-mazda-3-spy-photos-news
Partnering up will definitely help with saving development costs, along with sharing platforms too. The next gen Mazda2 is also reportedly going to use a downsized version of the cx5 chassis, which is also shared with the mazda6 and also the next gen mazda3. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/06/next-generation-mazda2-to-be-built-on-downsized-cx-5-platform.html
Another partnership that Mazda is doing is sharing the Miata's platform with Alfa Romeo, something I think they desperately needed to do in order to make building the next Miata more financially less risky for them. With competition from the GT86/FRS/BRZ toyobaru and it's lower entry price, the Miata has to bring down it's cost in order to be more competitive. Designing a specific chassis for a single car model just isn't very feasible anymore and that applies to all automakers. Platforms have to be shared to save on the costs.
This is one of the steps they're taking to insulate themselves from the currency fluctuations. The weak yen is only a temporary condition that was put in place by the Japanese government.
I think I also read somewhere that the next mazda3 could possibly also be built in Mexico too. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2015-mazda-3-spy-photos-news
Partnering up will definitely help with saving development costs, along with sharing platforms too. The next gen Mazda2 is also reportedly going to use a downsized version of the cx5 chassis, which is also shared with the mazda6 and also the next gen mazda3. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/06/next-generation-mazda2-to-be-built-on-downsized-cx-5-platform.html
Another partnership that Mazda is doing is sharing the Miata's platform with Alfa Romeo, something I think they desperately needed to do in order to make building the next Miata more financially less risky for them. With competition from the GT86/FRS/BRZ toyobaru and it's lower entry price, the Miata has to bring down it's cost in order to be more competitive. Designing a specific chassis for a single car model just isn't very feasible anymore and that applies to all automakers. Platforms have to be shared to save on the costs.
Thanks very much!
Good information, and very helpful to me. I appreciate your time in putting this together.
Good information, and very helpful to me. I appreciate your time in putting this together.
costermonger
Member
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- CX-5
No problem, I love this kind of stuff.
Those partnerships make a lot of sense. I would imagine they want to secure significant manufacturing capacity worldwide in advance of the next 3. It's such an important car for Mazda. The platform cost savings from the other skyactiv models will certainly help.
Very good points.
A major part of my purchase decision was based on the fact that the vehicle was designed, engineered and built in Japan. Domestic automakers have made great strides in closing the gap but are not to parity yet. My 2010 Ford is at least a decade behind.
SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
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- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
Keep in mind that Mazda and Ford no longer shares the Flat Rock production plant. Mazda has losses with every car that came out of that plant. To replace that and and still be profitable (working against export exchange rates), Mazda is in the process of building their Mexico plant which has a build capacity of 230,000 cars. This will be the main output for the next gen Mazda2 for North America, which a Toyota will practically rebadge and sell.
With historical reference, you can tell that major Japanese companies plan for the long run. Don't expect any huge rises in profitability within just a year or two. They plan for at least a decade or two ahead. Efforts by Mazda CEO Yamanouchi have led to Mazda's first annual profit in five years. That is a return from $1bil loss in 8months a a just few years ago. That alone says a lot for the far future of Mazda.
With historical reference, you can tell that major Japanese companies plan for the long run. Don't expect any huge rises in profitability within just a year or two. They plan for at least a decade or two ahead. Efforts by Mazda CEO Yamanouchi have led to Mazda's first annual profit in five years. That is a return from $1bil loss in 8months a a just few years ago. That alone says a lot for the far future of Mazda.
Woah there killer! Your numbers are a bit off!!
Mazda sold 123,000 Mazda3's and 277,000 total in the US.
I think costermonger referenced North America sales above.
costermonger
Member
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- CX-5
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costermonger
Member
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- CX-5
Well, North American sales figures are just Canada and US sales. Mazda has a bigger share of the Canadian market than it does in the US, but that likely boils down to economics - car prices in Canada are generally much higher than in the US for more or less the same vehicle (the trim packages have different names, but they're pretty much the same thing). Mazda cars are more expensive in Canada than the US, but not as much more as brands like Subaru.
As for the snow discussion, in the Canadian market you really don't see a significantly different mix of car models being purchased than in areas of the US where there is little or no snow. You won't see a lot of low ground-clearance, rear wheel drive sports cars on the road in the middle of the winter, but most other vehicles are perfectly fine in snow with proper winter tires, which are very common from December to April.
