This excause of not selling more Mazda's in the US is lame. If this's the case, we won't see any Mazda's left in the dealer's lots, and we won't get any discounts when we're buying a Mazda! But we all know these are not the case and
I guess you didn't read my earlier post:
Mazda dealers look to recover from a rough 2016
Your guess is correct. I just read the article now.
Funny how two people can read the same article and get two different conclusions.
The interview is with a dealership owner, not a brand representative.
He's (rightfully) looking after his own bottom line, so it's fitting that he would politely complain about low sales and low incentives from Mazda.
What I read from that article, is that Mazda is trying to move the brand upmarket and is not actively trying to increase sales by discounting.
Sounds like this is creating problems, because Mazda wants dealers to invest in some new facilities and customer satisfaction training, but dealers are not making very much money, so they are having a hard time justifying the investments.
Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Masamichi Kogai also said he needs to do something of their very low retention rate which is hurting their sales in the US! Mazda's retention rate currently is at 37% whereas the industry average is at 49%! All companies are trying to make more sales if possible, not the opposite!
Mazda looks to next-gen CX-5 for a lift
The Mazda retention rate is quickly on the rise. Looks like it went up from just 26% in 2011. I think the 60% they are going for will easily be reached.
Would you happen to know how retention rate is calculated?
Is it the proportion of Mazda owners that go back and buy another? (I don't know how they could calculate it this way)
Or is it the proportion of Mazda buyers in a given year that also own another Mazda? (Easy to calculate because those customers get a $500 incentive)
Very few customers who have a Skyactiv car have had a need to replace it yet.