mazda in trouble?

[sikuya]

mazda in trouble in the US?not really, unlike mitsubishi.but it's frustrating for the folks at Mazda closing up 2004 and not selling as much vehicles as they wanted to compared to behemoth Toyota.Mazda sold 76,080 3s last year in the US while Toyota sold 333,161 Corollas; 72,148 6s vs 426,990 Camrys; 24,860 MPVs vs 159,119 Siennas.
The problems?Mazda said Mazda vehicles have these shortcomings per their surveys and research:
1.small cupholders (against supersized American drinking cups?)
2.subpar climate controls
3.smallish seats(against supersized American butts?)
4.too firm a ride(that's why they're sporty!)
5.no techno help for iPod,bluetooth,satellite radio and navigation system

so somehow Mazda makes good-looking and great products but not reaching out to the American public.Mazda should fix maybe the cupholders and A/C but shouldn't give up on its "zoom-zoom" image vs soft,wallopy ride (that's why their is the Camry). should the brand change just to compete with Toyota or Honda?

[Karding]

compared to behemoth Toyota.

Well, there's the answer at grabe ang margin At marami pa ding average driver as opposed to sporty driver na mas gusto ng softer ride.

[mazdamazda]

well... the Mazda brand is more directed to a smaller segment of the market (and a loyal one) - which would by the sporty / stylish driver as opposed to the soccer mom / grocery hauler driver (sister company Ford is responsible for that). and I wouldn't want the brand to change just to compete directly with Toyota & Honda.

though if you sum up the Ford Group's (Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin) they present a very varied and formidable offering (their SUVs are still selling like hotcakes).

[the_wildthing]

Ano ba ang gusto nila?

I mean, if they have a market and are making money, they should be ok as a niche player.

[mazdamazda]

here it is... I don't think that they are aiming to topple Toyota

Mazda aims to achieve margin goal

TOKYO: Mazda Motor Corp. will aim for an operating profit margin of 6 percent in closer to two years within a 10-year, longer-term business plan, a top official at the Japanese auto maker said on Tuesday.

“We want 6 percent in the not-so-distant future,” Stephen Odell, director and senior managing executive in charge of Mazda’s marketing and sales told Reuters in an interview.

Between the auto maker’s medium-term business plan that runs over the next two years and the longer-term, 10-year plan, Odell said Mazda would aim to reach that target within the “closer end” of that range.

Outlining its new medium-term and longer-term strategy, Mazda said on Tuesday it wants to lift the margin to more than 6 percent some time within the next 10 years, up from 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter and 2.4 percent last business year.

That would still be lower than a margin of 9.2 percent at top Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp. in the latest quarter and around 10 percent for second-ranked Nissan Motor Co.

Mazda’s strength so far has come mainly from its stellar performance in Europe, where its sales grew by 20 percent during the first business half-year to Sept. 30.

But Odell said that also meant Mazda had “plenty of opportunity” to grow in other markets such as the United States — its Achilles’ heel — and the promising Southeast Asian region, where its presence is still minimal.

As the auto maker invests in the U.S. market to turn more dealers into exclusive Mazda showrooms, Odell said it would be able to sell more vehicles while retaining more customers for future sales.

He noted that 70 percent of its U.S. sales were made through its exclusive dealers, which make up just 30 percent of all showrooms selling Mazda cars.

Odell said U.S. dealers were showing interest in turning exclusive at a faster pace than Mazda had expected, prompting Mazda to bring forward its target of having 50 percent exclusivity by one year to 2006. — Reuters

[luckytruck]

you have to hand it to toyota though, they are now part of (or very close to becoming) the Big Three in the USA. i'm not sure which one they will bump off, i forget.

andy

[the_wildthing]

OT: Hahaha kala ko si odell ng tsikot ang iniinterview... missed the full name.

Teka medyo number crunching na yan...ayoko nang magcompute. Basta if their studies indicate that their current market is enough for their goal, ok na, otherwise, they will have to introduce models for the "Toyota buyers" group.

[airshaq20]

If you check the numbers in the past few years, Mazda we're never been that hot.

2003
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...8/article.html

2002
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...8/article.html

2001
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...7/article.html

2000
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...8/article.html

JDPowers - the best known organization that conducts surveys to car owners have compiled the data and shows that the new Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 has this flaws:
Mazda 3 Mazda 6
Mechanical Quality : 2/5 2/5
Feature & Accessory Quality: 5/5 3/5
Body & Interior Quality: 2/5 2/5
Overall Quality: 2/5 2/5
Performance: 3/5 3/5
Comfort: 5/5 3/5
(see link to check result)

Overall, if you look at the quality 5 or 10 years before that (3 series, Protege (US version of 323), 6 series and 626), you will see that they fall short to quality. Mazda and Ford had a lot of quality issues in the past and even now (google "mazda recalls" and "ford recalls").....

I know, a lot of us buy our cars based on looks. But looks doesn't necessarily mean quality.
Here's the link:

http://www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/jdpa_...ndJdAwards.jsp

[mazdamazda]

here's a side by side comparo of the 3, civic, corolla & focus. this is just the "initial" ratings (90 days from purchase - ?).

performance? hmmm....

[airshaq20]

JD Power has been there for a long time and their survey is based on actual owners.

For people who buy small cars (im talking about US Market) - they are usually owned by average daily driver who is looking for these:
1. quality
2. fuel economy
3. price

Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, some Mitsubishis and all american car makers who produce compact cars have been always short in quality and that affects their resale value. I have yet to see an average american who buys his automobile just by looks alone.

Hyundai's annual sales is doing better every year just because of their 10-year-100,000 mile powertrain warranty compared to 3year-36,000 mile warranty for other manufacturers. But, they still do have quality issues.

The reason why quality and reliability is so important here is because time here is so important and getting your car fixed is so time-consuming and expensive (cheapest shop i've seen is $65/hr - average is $75/hr and they usually charge extra hours for a simple job).

I guess its a different thing in the Philippines because people buy their cars there based mostly on looks.

[mazdamazda]

I guess its a different thing in the Philippines because people buy their cars there based mostly on looks.

whoa... if that is the case the Hyundai Coupe would be the best selling car around... seconded by the Mazda3.

but the local market is still dominated by AUVs (as Filipinos prefers utility IMO).

i have a Toyota Rav4 (my daily drive). it has squeaks all over (as confirmed by other owners too), the rear shocks failed, my front disc brakes & brake pads have been replaced, the engine stalled on me (due to a dirty throttle body) - all within 30K km.

[66bunny]

I agree. Pinoys tend to lean on how much passengers they can accomodate that's why AUVs and SUVs are so hot today. Plus, these rides have better suspensions to our moonscape roads.

[airshaq20]

whoa... if that is the case the Hyundai Coupe would be the best selling car around... seconded by the Mazda3.

but the local market is still dominated by AUVs (as Filipinos prefers utility IMO).

We were talking mainly about compact sedans (Focus, Mazda3, Civic)...the Hyundai Coupe (it is called Tiburon here) is a different class - same as the Toyota Celica, Eclipse, etc....Different class targets different market.

i have a Toyota Rav4 (my daily drive). it has squeaks all over (as confirmed by other owners too), the rear shocks failed, my front disc brakes & brake pads have been replaced, the engine stalled on me (due to a dirty throttle body) - all within 30K km.

Well, our previous X5 suffered from a lot of squeaks which i think is true to all SUVs (also true to my ex-gf's Grand Cherokee)....

JDPower and Assoc. surveys only in north america and the top selling figures were based on the numbers here. So i think your experience with your car/s might not be true when you compare it to the survey. I was just pointing out (and in answer to the thread's title) why Mazda isn't doing well because of these reasons.

I mean, more people would agree with me that Toyota is one of the best when it comes to quality - but why would you still buy another car? I guess for some people, the old saying is true - "its better to look good than to feel good".

As for AUV's - yes, i agree. But again, AUV's belong to another class. Comparing it to a compact sedan is like apples and oranges. But say you have two AUV's, same power, same seating capacity - i think most of us would buy the better-looking one.

[parakitoJDM]

We were talking mainly about compact sedans (Focus, Mazda3, Civic)...the Hyundai Coupe (it is called Tiburon here) is a different class - same as the Toyota Celica, Eclipse, etc....Different class targets different market.

.................................................. ..........

I mean, more people would agree with me that Toyota is one of the best when it comes to quality - but why would you still buy another car? I guess for some people, the old saying is true - "its better to look good than to feel good".

If you really look in to the details of those quality issues, those were actually pretty minor. so i'm sure the basic design & engineering of the Mazda 3 is very good. Imagine that's comparing the 3 on its 1st. year of Production against the current Corolla & Civic which had around for 4years.

[FrankDrebin]

i have a Toyota Rav4 (my daily drive). it has squeaks all over (as confirmed by other owners too), the rear shocks failed, my front disc brakes & brake pads have been replaced, the engine stalled on me (due to a dirty throttle body) - all within 30K km.

What!? With only 30K in the odo?! I thought SUVs were sturdy enough for Phil condition?

[explorer]

mazda is currently in its greatest financial health since it was bought by ford almost 20 years ago. like ford that used to think that volume (number of cars sold) is good...mazda's strategy is..."the bottom line of the business is profit"...why sell more cars that will make your balance sheet RED if you can sell only a few cars but turn your balance sheet into black?

[empy]

though if you sum up the Ford Group's (Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin) they present a very varied and formidable offering (their SUVs are still selling like hotcakes).

i think this quote is right on target. the ford group needs mazda to be a niche player, and attract young people into the franchise to keep their business as they grow up and their needs change and hopefully move to other ford brands. i think this is an excellent strategy and they are certainly executing it well with the 3, the 6 and the rx8.

toyota and honda stand on their own, and almost have to try to be everything to everyone.

[sikuya]

just FYI (this is just one month's worth of sales[january 2005]):

Ford sales decline 12% in january 2005,US

Ford -14.1%
Mercury +17.0%
Lincoln - 23.3%
Jaguar -38.4%
Volvo -1.5%
Land Rover -2.1%
Mazda -1%

[airshaq20]

January is usually a bad month for all businesses. After the holiday season, most of the money are already spent. Winter season is also a slow season for car sales. Ever wonder why US and Canada release new cars on September? Because its summer here...and summer is the peak season :-)

[sikuya]

January is usually a bad month for all businesses. After the holiday season, most of the money are already spent. Winter season is also a slow season for car sales. Ever wonder why US and Canada release new cars on September? Because its summer here...and summer is the peak season :-)

yeah,that's true.but some automakers still managed to eke out respectable increases, like the following:

Honda 6%
Toyota 6%
Subaru 31%
Hyundai 10%
BMW 22.5%
Audi 1.4%
Nissan 15%
Chrysler 9%

Ford and GM announces slowdown in production of vehicles because of sluggish sales.
But now back to Mazda, the 3,6 and MPV are up; but falling sales of its B-series truck,Miata,Tribute and RX-8 offset the increase.