2017~2024 Mazda Sales.... Not So Good

[dougal]

Well, August sales were OK and pretty good for the CX-5 (as usual). Mazda 3 sales continue their month on month decline which is now close to 50 straight months.

I wonder if they are making more money per car this year or is it the same?

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Well, August sales were OK and pretty good for the CX-5 (as usual). Mazda 3 sales continue their month on month decline which is now close to 50 straight months.

I wonder if they are making more money per car this year or is it the same?

Seems to be a universal story. Demand continues to shift to the truck & SUV market.

Here's a US Vehicle Sales website Shadonoz put up earlier in this thread.

At the aggregate, comparing Jan thru Aug 2019 to Jan thru Aug 2018, passenger car sales continued their decline (down 8%) while trucks/suvs continued their increase (up 4%). Total units increased slightly (0.1% up year over year.)

Jan thru Aug 2019 U.S. sales (units)
Passenger cars...3,445,632 (30% of total)
Trucks/SUVs......8,038,371 (70% of total)

Just for grins, I looked up the earliest year on the website.

Calendar Year 2013 U.S. sales (units)
Passenger cars...7,780,710 (50% of total)
Trucks/SUVs......7,819,489 (50% of total)

Quite the shift, huh? And the gap continues to widen.

 

[dougal]

Seems to be a universal story. Demand continues to shift to the truck & SUV market.

Here's a US Vehicle Sales website Shadonoz put up earlier in this thread.

At the aggregate, comparing Jan thru Aug 2019 to Jan thru Aug 2018, passenger car sales continued their decline (down 8%) while trucks/suvs continued their increase (up 4%). Total units increased slightly (0.1% up year over year.)

Jan thru Aug 2019 U.S. sales (units)
Passenger cars...3,445,632 (30% of total)
Trucks/SUVs......8,038,371 (70% of total)

Just for grins, I looked up the earliest year on the website.

Calendar Year 2013 U.S. sales (units)
Passenger cars...7,780,710 (50% of total)
Trucks/SUVs......7,819,489 (50% of total)

Quite the shift, huh? And the gap continues to widen.

Wow, that is pretty dramatic.

 

[wlong01]

I am starting to see a lot more Mazdas on the road. Lots of CX-5's but a fair amount of 6's.
The other day I went to the gym and there were two other CX-5's in the parking lot.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Wow, that is pretty dramatic.

If we looked, we could probably find the demographics of who's buying trucks & SUVs.

A large chunk is Baby Boomers (ages 55-73 as of this writing.) Trucks & SUVs are easy to get in and out of, and provide that "big car" feel of security that Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles used to afford. The church parking lot (mostly older folk) on Sunday morning has perhaps 12 SUVs, with maybe 2 or 3 passenger cars.

Here's an article by a marketing research company titled <B>New Car Buyer Demographics 2019</b>

Two interesting tables:

New SUV Buyers By Age Group
Age 24 and younger...<1%
Age 25 to 54..............43%
Age 55 to 64..............26%
Age 65 and up............31%

New Mazda Buyers by Age Group
Age 24 and younger......1%
Age 25 to 54..............47%
Age 55 to 64..............28%
Age 65 and up............24%

Lots and lots of other interesting vehicle buyer stats there.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

I am starting to see a lot more Mazdas on the road. Lots of CX-5's but a fair amount of 6's.
The other day I went to the gym and there were two other CX-5's in the parking lot.

Same here.

But I think it's because I've become more brand-aware.

When I was driving my truck, I never really paid attention.

 

[wlong01]

Same here.

But I think it's because I've become more brand-aware.

When I was driving my truck, I never really paid attention.

Well, I got my 2016 in April of 2015 and barely ever saw any CX-5's. I've always looked for Mazda's since I had a RX-7 and a 626 so I was always brand-aware.
I can definitely see an up-tick, in my development there's at least 8 CX-5's out of 160 homes. Two in my garage. Lot more CR-V's though.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Well, I got my 2016 in April of 2015 and barely ever saw any CX-5's. I've always looked for Mazda's since I had a RX-7 and a 626 so I was always brand-aware.
I can definitely see an up-tick, in my development there's at least 8 CX-5's out of 160 homes. Two in my garage. Lot more CR-V's though.

I've noticed a few CX-5s and a couple of CX-9s, but mostly I've noticed some number of 3s around. Not a ton, but more of them than the SUVs.

 

[mac.mc78]

If we looked, we could probably find the demographics of who's buying trucks & SUVs.

A large chunk is Baby Boomers (ages 55-73 as of this writing.) Trucks & SUVs are easy to get in and out of, and provide that "big car" feel of security that Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles used to afford. The church parking lot (mostly older folk) on Sunday morning has perhaps 12 SUVs, with maybe 2 or 3 passenger cars.

Here's an article by a marketing research company titled <B>New Car Buyer Demographics 2019</b>

Two interesting tables:

New SUV Buyers By Age Group
Age 24 and younger...<1%
Age 25 to 54..............43%
Age 55 to 64..............26%
Age 65 and up............31%

New Mazda Buyers by Age Group
Age 24 and younger......1%
Age 25 to 54..............47%
Age 55 to 64..............28%
Age 65 and up............24%

Lots and lots of other interesting vehicle buyer stats there.

LOL.. I'm 41 and I got my CX-5 because one of my complaints was my 6 was "too damn low to the ground" LOL.

I'm not even a boomer and I'm already complaining! Lol

 

[Avoidin Deer]

LOL.. I'm 41 and I got my CX-5 because one of my complaints was my 6 was "too damn low to the ground" LOL.

I'm not even a boomer and I'm already complaining! Lol

I was at a local restaurant in an old strip mall a while ago. The sidewalk is so low & narrow that the front door is right at the parking lot.

A banana yellow Firebird pulled up front, and I thought "There's a car full of local teens out for an evening." I turned my back to go inside, and from behind me I heard "Uuuuhhhhh," as someone groaned trying to climb out of the thing.

I actually laughed out loud, 'cause I knew what that sound meant. So much for my "teenagers" theory!

 

[wlong01]

I was at a local restaurant in an old strip mall a while ago. The sidewalk is so low & narrow that the front door is right at the parking lot.

A banana yellow Firebird pulled up front, and I thought "There's a car full of local teens out for an evening." I turned my back to go inside, and from behind me I heard "Uuuuhhhhh," as someone groaned trying to climb out of the thing.

I actually laughed out loud, 'cause I knew what that sound meant. So much for my "teenagers" theory!

If it was a pre-1980's Firebird it was probably some boomer trying to recapture his youth.
If you saw the Tarentino move '"Once a time in Hollywood" Sharon Tate's car was a canary yellow 1968 Firebird convertible. Cherry car.

 

[Sleeper]

LOL.. I'm 41 and I got my CX-5 because one of my complaints was my 6 was "too damn low to the ground" LOL.

I'm not even a boomer and I'm already complaining! Lol

Well I'm in the 28% group.. I was originally looking at a WRX but noticed the CX 5 came in the turbo.... and yes it is easier to get in and out of lol but also has way more creature comforts and more torque to boot.... Only on my first fill, put in 89 test ... so far the km/100L reading is lower that 87 I will see how this goes as I get closer to half a tank... sure do love the turbo though! Glad to see another Canuk here too.

 

[mackworth]

It seems like maybe Mazda was an early warning sign. Sales are looking real bad for everyone.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

It seems like maybe Mazda was an early warning sign. Sales are looking real bad for everyone.

Yeh, but Mazda's are worse.

Here are some September figures from this site:

Mazda's Sept 2019 Sales are 11.40% lower than their Sept 2018 Sales.
Mazda's Year-to-Date Sales through Sept 2019 are 11.50% lower than the same period last year.

The site has sales broken down by model, but you gotta pay for that info.

 

[gova]

I am surprised it look this long...

This is the most subsidized industry to date.
The car industry has seen very little innovation. The difference between 2007 car and 2017 car is mostly inclusion of iPad like device.
The cars are too expensive for 90% of people. Long gone are the years that you could get a new car for 1/4 at the most of ones salary.
Old world car companies are inefficient, slow to adapt and terrible at innovation (yes, I mentioned that already)
People are finally waking up. A head lights and grill re-design is not good enough anymore.

There is one energy company that has seen a proper growth, because they have a clue. They happen to make cars as well.

Tesla will soon be the amzon of industry, while most others will become kmarts, blockbusters and kodaks.

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/10/06/tesla-model-3-6th-best-selling-car-in-usa-in-3rd-quarter/

 

[Avoidin Deer]

I am surprised it look this long...

Maybe.

At the aggregate, Year-to-Date sales are only down 1.2% over last year.

Here are the historical figures:

I don't see anything drastic. Things are pretty flat the past 4 years.

And if you look at the manufacturer's chart, lots of the high dollar guys have increased in sales: BMW, Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche, Jaguar. We could argue over whose pockets are getting deeper.

Here's a chart showing the #weeks wages required to buy a car, from 1978-2008 (I cannot find an updated chart):

Last November, this same research company said "The purchase of an average- priced, new vehicle took 23.6 weeks of median family income in the third quarter [of 2018]." That's still near a 40+ year low. And today's cars last so much longer and get so much better mileage and are so much safer.

Regarding electric cars, their subsidy is running down but they've been at least as subsidized as everyone else. I'm not certain that the auto industry as a whole is more subsidized than--say--agriculture or energy. Besides, if we buy foreign, it's someone else's tax dollars subsidizing our purchase

If you're curious, this site has great info on the demographics of car buyers in 2019. It's rather interesting reading.

 

[Paulson]

Mazda interiors are just too small compared to the competition, and they offer middle of the road MPG. Look at the RAV4 hybrid for example, Toyota cant keep enough in stock and you will likely see the same thing with the CRV hybrid.


The safety systems(pedestrian braking/lane keep assist) also dont work as well as they do compared to its competitors.

Turbo is great, but look when looking at the Forester XT, only 5% of Forester buyers bought an XT. People dont really care about the extra power or a 6 speed automatic transmission.

 

[shadonoz]

The difference between 2007 car and 2017 car is mostly inclusion of iPad like device.

Actually, the biggest difference is the safety features. They are the only reason we have bought two new cars since 2011.

Infotainment is the second, however.

 

[theplayer11]

Mazda interiors are just too small compared to the competition, and they offer middle of the road MPG. Look at the RAV4 hybrid for example, Toyota can*t keep enough in stock and you will likely see the same thing with the CRV hybrid.


The safety systems(pedestrian braking/lane keep assist) also don*t work as well as they do compared to its competitors.

Turbo is great, but look when looking at the Forester XT, only 5% of Forester buyers bought an XT. People don*t really care about the extra power or a 6 speed automatic transmission.

I bought CX-5 this year mainly because of the turbo. Below 200HP? Can't believe so many can stand driving around with underpowered vehicles.
As for Subaru owners not buying faster cars...totally can see that.

 

[CX-5um]

Would not be surprised if the CX-3 and later CX-30 steals sales from Mazda3 in the US market. Bigger sells in the US.