Despite competition from cheaper Chinese EVs, Mazda's China sales grew 97% y-o-y in Q1 2024

Mazda ended its financial year ending March 2024 (April 2023 to March 2024, FY2024) with an 11.8 percent increase in global sales, totaling 1,204,668 units.

The growth is attributed to strong demand for Mazda cars in USA (up 24.6%), China (up 14.7%), Europe (up 12.5%). Sales in its domestic market Japan, however, dropped 2.8%.

The Mazda CX-5 is the company’s best seller, contributing nearly a third of Mazda’s global sales. Sales of the CX-5 in FY2024 totaled 350,339 units (up 1.5%), followed by the CX-30, with 213,081 units (up 22.7%).

Curiously, sales of the Mazda 3, which is the among the older models in Mazda’s line up, are up 21.1%, reaching 187,907 units.

While it is true that domestic Chinese electric vehicle brands (including plug-in hybrids) are pushing foreign brands like Mazda out of the market space, nuances in sales data suggest that either the tides are turning, or that the effect of the price war in China is stabilizing. From January to March 2024, sales of Mazda cars in China nearly doubled, growing 97.4% year-on-year! It's the highest growth for any Mazda sales region worldwide.

Mainland Chinese customers have to go through a lot of hoops and hurdles to buy a Mazda. Not only is it more expensive than an equivalent Chinese brand battery EV or plug-in hybrid (collectively known as New Energy Vehicle, or NEV in China) model, customers also have to draw lots to get a license plate. If they didn't succeed, they will have to try again next month. Many big Chinese cities impose a monthly cap on registration of combustion engine cars. Only green plates for NEVs are exempted from this monthly limit.

However, Mazda remains a small, somewhat niche brand in China. Annual sales in FY2024 totaled less than 100,000 units (96,653 units). In the same 12-month period, BYD sold nearly 2.8 million cars in China alone.

But Mazda is also a brand that says it won't build cars for anyone and everyone. It's a car for those who appreciate Japanese craftmanship and finer details of driving, basically people who don't buy the cheapest car with the longest list of features or the fastest 0-100 km/h time.

While sales in China nearly doubled in Q1 2024, Mazda's sales in Japan dropped 31.1 percent in that same 3-month period. So, contrary to popular opinion, Mazda is not too concerned about upstart Chinese players and electric vehicles. Mazda’s biggest problem is not BYD battery EVs and plug-in hybrids in China, but Toyota hybrids in Japan.

Closer to home, the Mazda CX-5 is priced from RM 144,469, while the Mazda CX-30 is priced from RM 131,409. Both are locally assembled at multi-brand contract manufacturer Inokom's plant in Kulim. Within the Inokom campus, Mazda cars are built in a separate building (with its own body and paint facility) managed independently by Mazda Malaysia - a 50:50 joint venture between distributor Bermaz Motor and manufacturer Mazda Motor.

The Japan-made Mazda 3 is priced from RM 156,059.