2017~2024 Mazda Sales.... Not So Good

Subaru is a smaller company but sells far more vehicles. People buy them because of their AWD system. That's their 'thing'. Went to Portland and Seattle for the first time a few months ago and they are ALL over the place. I rented a Crosstek while I was there and thought it was a pretty nice vehicle, and wasn't as slow as I thought it would be.

I drove a Crosstek too. In the mountains of PA around State College. Its a pig when you ask it for power you get a whine. That's about it.
 
Subaru is a smaller company but sells far more vehicles. People buy them because of their AWD system. That's their 'thing'. Went to Portland and Seattle for the first time a few months ago and they are ALL over the place. I rented a Crosstek while I was there and thought it was a pretty nice vehicle, and wasn't as slow as I thought it would be.


What's is Mazda's 'thing'? Budget luxury? Driving dynamics? I just don't think either of those things are going to get consumers to buy their vehicles. People care about reliability, cargo space, pricing, technology and MPG.

They're doing a great job of appealing to enthusiasts but enthusiasts aren't going to help keep them afloat.

Totally agree I have always said that even the 10 years I worked for them. They need to do and sell what people want and what other manufactures are selling. They have always been a very ignorant company regarding this stuff when you talk the the reps and what not. For instance we always asked why doesn*t Mazda have a integrated remote start option. You would always get the response from the higher ups. Well that*s not what people want. Excuse me? Most of our customers asked for that when I would help them when they came in for service or for their service introduction to me. That*s just one example. And it*s costing them.
 
I'm about to spend 40k+ on what should be a GenPee. If Mazda would just turbocharge that AWD 3 and Mazdaspeed it, they'd have my money without a doubt.

I'm forced to look elsewhere because I don't want an SUV that doesn't go offroad. I want what Mazda was BUILT on. A quick, inexpensive little Japanese poor-man's BMW. Like a Mazdapeed 3 or a Mazdaspeed Protege, or a 323GTX or an RX-4 or....I could keep going through generations of cool little turbocharged cars from Mazda that are now extinct.
 
They need to shift gears with their advertisements to encourage people to make the trip to their closest Mazda dealership (because there aren't that many around).
That is so market specific. Ohio loves Mazda.
6 dealers within 30 miles of my home address. 3 within 15 miles lest you think all 6 are far away. And there's another 41 miles away.

The Honda commercial with the dad making obnoxious engine sounds while the daughter laughs in the back seat is a good, memorable commercial.

One of the most memorable for me is this little kid... probably 12 years old...and he says these 2 words.... Oh what the hell was it?!? 🤪😆
In recent memory, Subarus commercial with the dad telling the toddler to be safe in the car, and she becomes the teenager. Brilliant. Impossible to forget the little girl "Daddy, ok..." LoL
 
(band)
(deadhorse

I think we all know what Mazda needs to do. They need to shift gears with their advertisements to encourage people to make the trip to their closest Mazda dealership (because there aren't that many around).

The Honda commercial with the dad making obnoxious engine sounds while the daughter laughs in the back seat is a good, memorable commercial.

I've been saying this as well.

I see lots of non-Mazda ads created for nationwide airing, with balloons and discounts and 0% financing.

The only Mazda ads I see are by the local dealer, and they are leasing deals on the 6 and the CX-5 Sport trim...there are no "Come on in today!" ads and no discounts and no 0% financing deals and no balloons. And how deep is the leasing market???

The only reason I went in to the Mazda dealer in the first place is they were next to the nearest Carmax, and research told me I did not want the oil-dilution of a CR-V. Subsequent research sold me on the brand, but Mazda was never on my short list or my long list.
 
mazda%20historical%20share.JPG


source: http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/mazda/
 
Here are Global Sales/Net Income (pre-tax)/Net Income as a % of Sales, in USD ($M)

2018....$31,961....$1,449....5%
2017....$29,572....$1,181....4%
2016....$31,341....$1,536....5%
2015....$27,912....$1,926....7%
2014....$24,769 ...$896.......4%
2013....$20,288 ...$360.......2%
2012....$18,704 ...($508)....-3%
2011....$21,396....$148.......1%
2010....$19,908....($67)......0%
2009....$23,330....($472)....-2%
2008....$31,977....$1,317.....4%

This is from their 2018 Financial Statement.
Original amounts were in Yen.
The above dollars used today's exchange rate, so there are specific-year conversion imperfections; however, this is an accurate depiction of the trend because it is not distorted by exchange rate variations.
 
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Interesting website.

The problem with looking at snapshots is--as you know--they lack context. So I looked at July 2018 Passenger Cars vs July 2017 Passenger Cars to see if 2018 might be an abnormally high year (making it a poor reference point), and it was actually 17% LOWER than 2017!!!

Here are calendar year comparisons:

2019ytd vs 2018ytd: Passenger cars -9%, all vehicles -1.5%
2018 vs 2017: Passenger cars -13%, all vehicles +0.3%
2017 vs 2016: Passenger cars -11%, all vehicles -1.8%
2016 vs 2015: Passenger cars -8%, all vehicles +0.4%
2015 vs 2014: Passenger cars -2%, all vehicles +5.7%
2014 vs 2013: Passenger cars +2%, all vehicles +10.0%
2013 vs 2012: Passenger cars +5%, all vehicles +7.6%

It looks like sales have been migrating to trucks & SUVs (lumped together in one category), but Total Sales (all vehicles) have been in the tank starting in 2016. I wonder why? The economy and employment have been doing well the past couple of years. There are still lots of 0% financing deals out there. Why is this industry missing out?
 
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It looks like sales have been migrating to trucks & SUVs (lumped together in one category), but Total Sales (all vehicles) have been in the tank starting in 2016. I wonder why? The economy and employment have been doing well the past couple of years. There are still lots of 0% financing deals out there. Why is this industry missing out?

Perhaps the economy is not as healthy for consumers as some indicators might suggest.
 
Jesus, not much growth since 2000.

Heck, look at 1986. 380,000 units. Imagine how that looked in terms of market share back then, versus only 300,000 units over 3 decades later.

I hope no one took out mortgages expecting that to be the launching point for better things to come.

It's crazy, isn't it?
 

From the article: "Detroit is in the grips of a car recession marked by the collapse of demand for traditional sedans, which accounted for half the market just six years ago." Kinda supports those stats we were looking at, where passenger cars are declining & being replaced by trucks & SUVs.

I managed purchasing and inventory for a good part of my career, some of which was with a $500M PC reseller back in the early days of the industry. We had over 50,000 SKUs. Trying to figure out what people are going to want will drive you crazy.

At least as a reseller I could react in a real-time mode. Manufacturers are screwed worse, since they gotta plan so far out into the future...especially the car industry, where their lifecycle starts with the design process. I can't imagine...
 
I guess.

Consumer spending is strong and continues to grow, just not in this segment.

Maybe, maybe not. Here's a relevant write-up. I'm sure we can find many varying opinions out there. But no certainty, for certain. :)

One thing's for sure, we're a lot better at analyzing what has happened than predicting what will, and not even very good at that.
 
From the article: "Detroit is in the grips of a car recession marked by the collapse of demand for traditional sedans, which accounted for half the market just six years ago." Kinda supports those stats we were looking at, where passenger cars are declining & being replaced by trucks & SUVs.

I managed purchasing and inventory for a good part of my career, some of which was with a $500M PC reseller back in the early days of the industry. We had over 50,000 SKUs. Trying to figure out what people are going to want will drive you crazy.

At least as a reseller I could react in a real-time mode. Manufacturers are screwed worse, since they gotta plan so far out into the future...especially the car industry, where their lifecycle starts with the design process. I can't imagine...

No wonder you like stats! CDW by any chance?
 
Maybe, maybe not. Here's a relevant write-up. I'm sure we can find many varying opinions out there. But no certainty, for certain. :)

One thing's for sure, we're a lot better at analyzing what has happened than predicting what will, and not even very good at that.

Our economy is dependent upon consumer spending, which makes up for 2/3 of it. It's a hamster wheel we cannot afford to get off of. Lot of ills caused by the myriad ways we are cajoled into opening up our wallets. If we are ever satisfied and content, the whole thing will come crashing down.

"Outsourcing" is another one of those blessings/curses. It provides an unheard of standard of living (as measured by "stuff") because of the availability of cheap goods, but to some degree it costs jobs (assuming American manufacturing could even survive in a global marketplace.)

Regarding car sales, that article made an interesting point: 2/3 of spending is on things like housing & healthcare, and 1/4 in on things like groceries and clothing. Those are pretty much necessities that you can only pick at the fringes of. That leaves about 8% discretionary for durables, like cars and appliances. I don't know where education and retirement savings fit in there, but it sure seems that car sales are always at risk for either job loss or the fear of job loss.
 
No wonder you like stats! CDW by any chance?

Nah, it was with a company that focused on government markets.

As a taxpayer, there's nothing like having government buyers call in September (and to a lesser degree, in June) and say "I have $300,000 I have to spend! Help me put together an order!!!" *sigh*

All in all I enjoyed the job. Those were the days when there was margin available in hardware and software, and I got to work with some of the pioneers who are no longer around (WordPerfect, Kaypro, Lotus, Paradise video, Ashton Tate.) Because we sold to the govenrment, we dealt with everybody (my buyers negotiated contracts with over 600 manufacturers & developers each year.) Some of the founders of those early businesses were on our board. To call them interesting characters would be an understatement....think "street person" who's actually a multi-millionaire.
 
As a taxpayer, there's nothing like having government buyers call in September (and to a lesser degree, in June) and say "I have $300,000 I have to spend! Help me put together an order!!!" *sigh*

Whoever came up with "use it or lose it" really blew it.
 
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