March sales, no surprise

shadonoz

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State of Jefferson
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2017 CX-5 GT AWD+
Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total March sales of 15,664 vehicles, a decrease of 41.8 percent compared to March 2019. Year-to-date sales totaled 67,670 vehicles, a decrease of 4.5 percent. With 25 selling days in March, compared to 27 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 37.2 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis.

CPO sales totaled 3,392 vehicles in March, a decrease of 38.9 percent compared to March 2019. Year-to-date CPO sales decreased 2.5 percent, with 13,510 vehicles sold.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported March sales of 3,432 vehicles, a decrease of 43.1 percent compared to March last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 20.2 percent, with 12,922 vehicles sold.
source: Jalopnik
 
April should be worse. My dealer has been completely closed since 3/23. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't follow our state's guidelines and stay closed through the month.

2020-March-Sales.jpg
 
So depressing. My dealer has put a few folks on furlough. They have 2 mechanics who they are holding on to as long as they can afford it...doing "busy work" for now. I can find nothing about aggregate US car sales for last month. May be too early for all the numbers to roll in.

So many industries being hit like this. I started working full time in '72, and have never seen anything like it. I hope folks survive it.
 
Yeah, I read an article and practically all of the car makers are down 40% or more compared to Mar 2019.
They'll possibly be swamped at some point after the bat flu subsides some. I don't know if it's completely legal to buy a car here in CO now because of the stay in order.
Maybe if someone did the entire transaction online and they came out with the keys on a pole when you go to pick it up.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday for a legal food shopping trip. I wondered if it would be ok if I went around to other departments but I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.

None of the employees were wearing masks which is not good as they could have the bug and pass it around with out knowing.
 
Yeah, I read an article and practically all of the car makers are down 40% or more compared to Mar 2019.
They'll possibly be swamped at some point after the bat flu subsides some. I don't know if it's completely legal to buy a car here in CO now because of the stay in order.
Maybe if someone did the entire transaction online and they came out with the keys on a pole when you go to pick it up.
My dealer sent out an email for a completely "At Home" purchase experience:
-Shop on line
-Get financing on line
-Close the deal on line
-They'll deliver to your home
 
Sucks for Mazda, they were on pace for a great year of sales.
Does anyone know if Mazda is considered "Too big to fail" in Japan? Does Japan bailout their car manufacturers?
 
Yeah, I read an article and practically all of the car makers are down 40% or more compared to Mar 2019.
They'll possibly be swamped at some point after the bat flu subsides some. I don't know if it's completely legal to buy a car here in CO now because of the stay in order.
Maybe if someone did the entire transaction online and they came out with the keys on a pole when you go to pick it up.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday for a legal food shopping trip. I wondered if it would be ok if I went around to other departments but I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.

None of the employees were wearing masks which is not good as they could have the bug and pass it around with out knowing.

Unless a walmart employee happens to sneeze or cough on you you don't have anything to worry about. Just do your shopping, don't touch your face, go home and wash your hands good.

Where I'm at you'd think aliens invaded. Everything is shutdown even though the infection rate is only ,0004 and the death rate is .00001.
 
Unless a walmart employee happens to sneeze or cough on you you don't have anything to worry about. Just do your shopping, don't touch your face, go home and wash your hands good.

Where I'm at you'd think aliens invaded. Everything is shutdown even though the infection rate is only ,0004 and the death rate is .00001.

Actually it's very infectious and the other human ones (299E, etc) infect 40-100% of individuals every winter. The virus can live on surfaces for 15+ hours. Some data suggest it can last for days. Only a few % of people got the virus by being sneezed or coughed on. Most can't think of a single thing that caused them to get it.

The overall mortality rate is ~0.66% (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30243-7/fulltext#seccestitle210) but this is highly dependent upon your age and underlying conditions such as coronary disease, diabetes, and pulmonary issues. The mortality rate is 2-5% in those 60-70 and 10%+ in those >70.

Most estimates think this virus will kill 60-250,000 Americans by August. It is no joke and yes, I am a virologist and in the medical field.

Do not go out unless you have to. Really. Limit your exposure. Your next Mazda can wait a few months.
 
Let's keep this about Mazda, thanks.

Sucks for Mazda, they were on pace for a great year of sales.
Does anyone know if Mazda is considered "Too big to fail" in Japan? Does Japan bailout their car manufacturers?
Good question...It does suck, that said...It seems to me that the Japanese Automakers as well as the Japanese Government and Banks would step in to keep each other afloat in some way if need be...Fortunately, Mazda has been working more closely with Toyota in recent years so that relationship could come in really handy right about now...
 
You can see the effects everywhere. Empty roads and skies. If you ever check the FlightRadar24 tracker it never looks like it does now.

The sales numbers for April will probably be worse.

It's hard to sell cars when the majority of the country has shut down non-essential businesses.

 
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It seems to me that the Japanese Automakers as well as the Japanese Government and Banks would step in to keep each other afloat in some way if need be.

I worked for a division of NEC back in the 80s. That's how things were then (and long before) and they haven't changed since. Banks have a vested interested in most (all?) the businesses, including entire supply chains. It's a different system than ours, and will benefit Mazda during these times. That's part of why they've been around for 100 years.
 
Let's keep this about Mazda, thanks.


Good question...It does suck, that said...It seems to me that the Japanese Automakers as well as the Japanese Government and Banks would step in to keep each other afloat in some way if need be...Fortunately, Mazda has been working more closely with Toyota in recent years so that relationship could come in really handy right about now...

Sorry. But yes, Mazda's relationship with Toyota is going to be essential in this period. I have several Japanese colleagues who tell me that the big Japanese car makers are from the same large families that used to run Japan. They also run the banks and such so that to a large extent, the entire economy is intertwined. They said that is why you have Mitsubishi parts in all cars, as they are one of the "special" families. Antoine, you live in Japan right? Have you ever heard anything like this? If so, Mazda's survival as an "independent" is truly remarkable in that case.
 
Sorry. But yes, Mazda's relationship with Toyota is going to be essential in this period. I have several Japanese colleagues who tell me that the big Japanese car makers are from the same large families that used to run Japan. They also run the banks and such so that to a large extent, the entire economy is intertwined. They said that is why you have Mitsubishi parts in all cars, as they are one of the "special" families. Antoine, you live in Japan right? Have you ever heard anything like this? If so, Mazda's survival as an "independent" is truly remarkable in that case.
I just commented that I worked for a Japanese company. There was a period where American businesses tried to emulate their "Just In Time" manufacturing. (I was in Supply Management at the time.) Sure, you always want continuous improvement. But a large part of the Japanese "secret sauce" was that all the businesses in a given supply chain had common ownership.

So while things might hit Business A's manufacturing floor "Just In Time" and eliminate the need for that business to carry inventory, what was really happening was that the inventory carrying was pushed back down the chain to the various suppliers...THEY now held the inventories to deliver "Just In Time." They were not manufacturing to a perfect forecast...there is no such thing. But everyone was funded by the same bank, so cost shifting (and P&L shifting) was no big deal.

Here in American you cannot [generally] force your suppliers to hold your inventory. They may agree, but the cost never goes away...SOMEONE incurs it and it always gets built into the price. It has to, or they go out of business.

As I said, this is neither good nor bad. We each have our own economic systems. But I had lots and lots of conversations as to why I was not engaging in "Just In Time" for my employers. I would then ask for their perfect demand forecast for me to buy to, and things quelled for a while (inventory is, after all, a buffer against the unforeseen.) The benefit we tried to attain was to get better at forecasting and continuously learn where and why we were off, which always leads to a better understanding of our markets. It's a struggle here to impose that level of consistent discipline...a quarter is an eternity.

Regarding Mazda as an independent, that's a good question. I don't know the extent to which truly independent businesses exist in that system.
 
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Antoine, you live in Japan right? Have you ever heard anything like this? If so, Mazda's survival as an "independent" is truly remarkable in that case.
Yup...There is the zaibatsu system which supposedly ended after the war but according to this Wikipedia page, it appears the past is still influencing the present...

Regarding Mazda being independent, I believe it is for the most part although according to this Wikipedia page which appears to have stats from 2016...Some banks and Toyota do/did have a small piece of Mazda...

I thought I read somewhere that the Mazda Family still owns a piece as well and I know for sure that the company is publicly traded in Japan.

The automobile business seems to be really tough these days, it's very impressive that Mazda has not only survived but thrived as well despite not being as large as say Toyota.
 
It's early, but I'm a little surprised that prices haven't dropped like I thought they would, especially for used vehicles.
I'm still scouring the internet for something to replace my aging Pathfinder, and the prices of used vehicles is still the same today as last month.
You'd think dealers would want to get that inventory off their lots.
The longer it's there, the higher the depreciation.
 
Dealers holding out, loans are cheap these days and the economy could swing back once things open up again. The last downturn took years to recover from, this one would be a blip in comparison.
 
For April Mazda US (and other regions likely) are now offering 90 days no payment, on top of the 0.9% rate, on new sales contracts. FCA is going even further, offering 90 days no payments and 0% APR for up to 84 months. Now that's desperate.
 
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