Mazda has 1 big problem -- and 1 huge advantage | Business Insider

Interesting article with new Japan boss Moro now running NA Mazda Operations.

And confirms current Mazda owner retention rate (US) is one of the poorest in the US auto industry and how he wants to lift it, until they do real growth cant really happen.

What the hell was the old boss (O'Sullivan) doing for the past 15 years!, sweet fa.

 

Clearly they need to build more cars with rotary engines.

 

Well, if they add up the units sold of the MazdaSpeed 3, MazdaSpeed 6, and RX-8, that's a good start on non-repeat customers.

 

they need cars more refined , for a more mature audience. average age of Mazda owners is one of the lowest in US, i've read.

they definitely need a serious BMW 3/4 series contender IMHO or a model halfway between a 3 and a 5 series (in term of size)

RWD, serious engines (pwr), hybrid model and rotary on the top spec model.

my 2 cents. Moro, if you are reading me...go for it!

 

Yep Matt they need a Skyactiv V6, not to have any 6 cylinder engine is just dumb, and yeah I love the 2.5 SA-G T

 

^ I agree with Gator. It feels as if these new Mazdas, save maybe the Miata, are being directed at buyers who are "splurging" for a sporty feel beyond a Hyundai or Kia, where as my '04 felt near-par with my buddy's BMW 328I from the same year. I this this could partly be attributed to the lack of a flagship sports car.


Everyone else is growing more refined, and Mazda comes away feeling cheap to a maturing base of buyers. I would be interested to know what types of cars buyers are moving on to after buying a Mazda.

 

??, have you actually driven any of Mazda's current Skyactiv range, they are far from "unrefined".
In fact are equal to or better than most model/brands from Germany, seriously, as most of these so called Euro quality cars are not made in Germany, but Slovakia, Spain, South Africa.

I am talking the models Mazda compete with...to get anything decent in Euro you have to spend double what Mazda will charge you, and the Mazda is better fitted out.

No comparison with 04 cars and those made today by Mazda.

 

Here is one vid (remember this is an Aussie journo/engineer and has some great no BS vids).

 

this

 

I agree with you . The improvement is huge in the 6th* gen models
But if Mazda want really to compete with BMW (for example) , they need an upscale of models.

RWD
More engine choice
more luxury on interior


* Madza executives talking about the current skyactiv lineup : "these are 6th gen products"

Ash , do you know why they call "6th" this gen? From first Ford entering into company?

 

Being in high school I've noticed Mazda is more of a stepping stone car because they are usually cheaper. They go for low mileage,and newest one they can afford,which often ends up being a Mazda,then they move on to bmws and Chevy cars once their budget increases or they realize model year doesn't mean much.

 

I am a repeated customer to Mazda.

I bought my first Mazda in 1991, RX-7 TurboII. 2nd Mazda was in early 1994, a R1 1993 RX-7. After 1996, end of Rotary production in America, I had no reason to buy a Mazda. Piston engine were plenty available by other companies. It wasn't until 2004 the rotary came back, and I bought my 3rd and 4th Mazda in 2007, RX-8 and a CX-7. (got a "package deal")

I have since got rid of the CX-7, but still has the RX-8

I have driven the Miatas (NA, NB, NC) as well as the Mazdaspeed 3 & 6. At least for me, if I am going to get a piston engine powered car, I can find the excitement elsewhere.

I only buy Mazda because of the rotary powered cars.

 

Big changed announced today in Mazda management worldwide....just a few listed..

Appears Davis has been given the flick at MNAO vice Pres.(his position is not confirmed, my belief is he has gone)..

New VP @ Mazda NAO is Japanese and is now Masashi Otsuka.
New Senior VP @ Mazda NAO is now Shusuke Koreeda.
New President @ Mazda Canada now Masaharu Kondo.
New President @ Mazda Mexico and MMM now Chiharu Mizutani

Also many executive/management changes @ Mazda Thailand, China, Europe and Japan.

Apart from Europe, UK and Australia all the top bosses are now Japanese men at Distribution and Manufacturing.

 

The short answer is "yes." I don't consider a plastic interior and a surplus of electronics packages to be refined... But I wasn't comparing the level of refinement of today's Mazda with the refinement of that from a decade ago, I was comparing the cars Mazda is targeting with their flagship models.


The Miata is a decent sports car, but it isn't going to compete against any serious Porsches, or Corvettes like the RX-7 used to, or Z-cars or Mustangs, or even WRXs, like the RX-8 did. Might snag a buyer from a BRZ... Not exactly up-scale competition these days.

 

Whatever, all cars have plastic interiors and or fake leather (from plastic/synthetics)...been that way for past 45+ years in all car brands.

About the only Mazda model I would consider not in the top of the range with 'flagship models' the ones they compete in/with is the new Mazda 6, it has everything and more than what the 'luxury' brands have, IMO it's letdown is the 2.5 4cyl and lack of choice.
As Matt said the only difference are the lack of power options, the 2.2 diesel is a cracker if you like diesels.

As I have said before not having a 6 cylinder option in a large car (like the 6) which can carry 5 people very comfortably is an error IMO, apart from that, they offer more than any other car brand, including Mazda 2, 3's, CX- series....why they are voted in most countries by journos, critics and buyers as the best available models for the price today.

And it is all about electronics in cars today....

 

I did not know all of this. News to me. Ash, you remain on top of the Mazda happenings!

Paul.

 

Mazda is doing quite well in Canada. Everywhere I look are Mazda3s and CX5s. They are sensible, smart looking and sharp vehicles.
Unfortunately the next step up cars that these owners would go to might be found wanting. Despite the Mazda6 is one awesome mid-size sedan with its spunky 4 cylinder SkyActive the lack of a 6 cylinder option turns off some buyers.

 

I think their one biggest downfall is in the power department. Everything else is spot on. I bought an RX-8 3 years ago and it sold me on the company. It made me enjoy driving again. I just bought a new MX-5, so I can speak to the lack of power. But like the 8, it makes the drive enjoyable. I think as soon as they develop a more powerful engine for their models they will definitely appeal to more American and Canadian customers, because everyone here pays more attention to spec sheets than actual driving experiences.

 

Very true but once you've driven the 8 (and experienced the handling), I was sold in 2005. It took me a long time to find the car I wanted - settled on a used 2010 GT manual I bought last fall.

 

Trying to decide how surprising it is that Mazda doesn't have a lot of repeat customers. On the one hand, cars with endearing personalities do tend to attract repeat buyers. That would mean Mazda is an exception somehow. On the other hand, I guess most people who shop in Mazda's price range (feel they) can't afford the luxury of the more-fun car, so they end up leaning toward the ones with better reputations for reliability.

I feel like brand passion tends to be supported by cars that can't really be replaced at any price point. There's no such thing as a better M3, Corvette, Mini Cooper, or Model S, no matter how far upmarket you go. Plenty of things you might buy instead if you had the money, but they're all fundamentally different kinds of cars. That lets the people who buy those cars feel really special. Even the Prius gets some of that action, if we're honest.

What Mazdas fit that description? The RX-8 and Mazda5 certainly did, but not in ways that have mass appeal; almost nobody really wants a handling-at-all-costs 4-seater, or a 3-row people carrier with a manual transmission. Today, all Mazda has left is the MX-5, and even that would have a hard time persuading anyone who could afford a used Boxster or something. As great as the rest of the lineup is, none of those cars is the kind of thing people really get invested in and stick with. Either they can afford to move upmarket so they do, or they can't and eventually settle for something less fun but cheaper/easier to own. Not enough people in the middle there to build a brand on.

Either way, it'll be really, really interesting to see how Mazda moves forward from here.

 

I guarantee Mazda trying to go more upscale with everything will not end well. I'm extremely interested in seeing how Hyundai's upscale experiment unfolds over the next few years, and even that failing wouldn't be a surprise to me at all.

 

Figured I'd add my 2 cents. Back in 2014 I was looking to buy a new small and fuel efficient car. I had no intention of buying Ford, Honda or Toyota. I started looking at Mini, Dodge (Dart //), and the Mazda 2 and Mazda 3.

The mini was too expensive for maintenance. The Dodge Dart was simply too expensive ($20+k to start). The Mazda 2 I could only find a hatchback version, and the Mazda 3 was too expensive for the car I wanted. It theoretically was low enough price, but nobody locally had a base model for me to even test drive.

I started looking a little further and ended up getting a decently equipped Ford Fiesta. (I -hate- Ford cars, and this one is small and precise and fun to drive. It reminds me a lot of driving a Mazda -- which the platform is shared.) Of course, I did NOT get the hatchback version, I got the sedan version. $12k, had the 6 speed auto, good 4 cyl engine, and gets 35-40 MPG...

I would have loved to buy a Mazda, but the closest Mazda to a small cheap (non-hatchback) that was available locally was the Mazda 6 and the cheapest I could find was double the cost, and frankly it was bigger then I wanted.

The problem with repeat buyers for Mazda, isn't the brand. It's shared platforms with Ford, it's when the equivalent Mazda is more expensive then the shared platform, etc. Now that the Ford partnership is over, I expect the divergence will allow Mazda to focus on better cars at the right price.

Moving forward they are going to start to struggle against Hybrids and electric vehicles.... even with worse fuel mileage and driving performance, hybrids are selling based on the perception they're "greener". They also have the V6 issue as mentioned. Bigger cars need a fuel efficient V6 option to appear to American buyers.

I REALLY hope they address each of these issues, low-end cost, upscale engine specs, and better differentiation. (I also REALLY want a new Rotary engine car.)

I figure in 2-3 years I'll be in the market for a new car, and I definitely want to give Mazda a chance.. (and I still hate Toyota and Honda as completely uninspired cars. There is simply nothing 'fun' about driving one.)

 

Mazda's problem isn't the cars...it's the dealers. For the most part, they're terrible.

Last winter (Feb 2015) we were deciding between a CX-9 and a Highlander. The highlanders were brand new, the CX-9 is an aging design, and the dealers had TONS of them. Long story short, they wouldn't budge on price beyond the factory rebate, rarely answered the phone, salesmen knew less about the car than I did, and the dealerships themselves are typically smaller, dingier buildings.

Toyota, on the other hand, has VERY well trained people, big, bright showrooms, and is more than willing to make a deal if they can close a sale.

Mazda needs to work on their customer relations if they want people to ever come back to the dealers and buy more cars.

 

Mazda is definitely looking to compete up market a bit, using the term 'near luxury' and mentioning Volvo as an example. I think it's feasible and I think they can avoid the $9-13k cars in the US market.

As Gambit said, one of the key problems is the dealer network. Another has been advertising; even Mazda Japan is weak in that area e.g. "Be a driver"? "Driving Matters"? Are you serious? I have a few slogans that I would provide for free that represent Mazda completely from past to Future that would absolutely draw more people, along with all the other necessary marketing.

Paul.

 

Until Mazda is legally allowed to sell direct to the customer, like what Tesla is trying to accomplish, you're all stuck with the shitty *** dealer situation that you currently have.

Until everyone who buys Mazda cars stops doing business with the crappy dealers, we're all stuck with what we've got.

Here in Colorado, I use two dealers that I despise as price quotes to get the other three dealers that I don't mind doing business with to come down on their price for a car they have in stock. Granted, I probably have more Mazda dealers in a 100 mile radius (11 according to Mazda USA) than anywhere else in the country that isn't in California.

I've also helped coworkers get better deals on Mazda's when they've asked for my assistance over the past several years. For me, it's lots of fun to help friends and coworkers get great prices on Mazda's, and in my own way, stick it to the dealers that have business practices that I hate.

As for improving Mazda's marketing campaigns, why don't you do it on your own?
Create you much better Mazda product commercial, film it, and put it on YouTube.
If you think you can do better, get out there and do it.

BC.