Mazda: A leap up or a momentary leap? - Walla! vehicle

2022-01-16T16:12:42.797Z

The automaker Mazda finished the year 2021 in fifth place in the manufacturers' ranking, what led to the small manufacturer's jump there?

Mazda: A leap up or a momentary leap?

Without a new model, without a definite bestseller.

Mazda's solution to its sales challenge was to return to where it grew up - the institutional market.

But this time with a twist.

These are the numbers behind one of her good years

Keenan Cohen, Amir Weinstock carzone

16/01/2022

Sunday, 16 January 2022, 15:34 Updated: 17:57

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The year 2021 smiled for all car brands in Israel, the tide that swept the local market raised sales numbers for all manufacturers which at worst rose slightly less than the market average (mainly due to inventory issues) and at best recorded tens of percent growth (mainly due to available inventories and continuous supply).

But here and there were a few brands that recorded growth worth a second look at what they went through.

Mazda is one such.

And not that in previous years it was a niche brand, but while in 2016-2020 it went around in 7-8 place and with a gap of up to 1,000 units from the one adjacent to it, in 2021, with 15,136 units it is not only fifth place but also a nice gap of 2,500 Units from Mitsubishi that moved to 6th place.

The National Car: Who is the one that Israelis really attacked in 2021?

To the full article

Back to the happy 90s? (Photo: Keinan Cohen, manufacturer)

Mazda owes its big break in Israel to the importer Delek Motros' bet on the vehicle fleets in the early 2000s.

The wave of dot.com and the blossoming of the concept of the company's car in Israel alongside two models that were stamped on the popular categories at the time - the Mazda 323 and the 626 - the "family" and "managers" of those years.

It went on and even intensified with their successors Mazda 3 and 6 respectively.

About 21 years later it is again the vehicle fleets and leasing companies that are rescuing this brand and flowing gasoline in its arteries and leaving it with its head above water.

The leading models and the distribution of private and institutional (Photo: screenshot, CARZONE screenshot)

An analysis of the manufacturer's models shows that even in the cases of its two bestsellers to private customers, the CX-5 and CX-30, when comparing the data of dedication to private to those of vehicle fleets and sales on the 0 km channel, it appears that the latter two share Equivalent to private dedication.In the less popular models like Mazda 2, Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 the gap is already significant towards the vehicle fleets and the 0 km.

Combination of all models and distribution to buyers - 60.3 not for private customers (Photo: screenshot, CARZONE screenshot)

Although in the last weeks of 2021 the importer went out in a series of price reductions across its supply, the more substantial discounts were received not by the private consumers who paid dearly for the cars, but by the companies that sold them in the corresponding channels.

A Walla! Car survey using the carzone website, which regularly reviews the prices of new cars, shows that while the average price of a Mazda car for private customers in 2021 was NIS 158,744, less than the general market average, when prices are segmented for specific models, For the private customer in the showroom and the one where the car was sold to the 0 km customer.

However, it should be taken into account that while private customers tend to buy the high levels of finish, those assigned to the 0 km transactions are usually the simplest. Also, any 0km deal must also incorporate within it the future impairment of the car as one purchased on this route.

Transaction prices: private versus 0 km (Photo: screenshot, CARZONE screenshot)

And out of all Mazda's model offerings, if there is one that also tells Mazda's story in the Israeli market in general and its story in 2021 - it's Mazda 3. The company's family has for years and generations been the bread and butter product that filled the parking lots of major companies.

The changing consumer taste that today prefers small crossovers over an excellent family car, the entry of more suitable competitors for these customers (Octavia) and hybrid propulsion owners who have given their owners a value-added benefit (Corolla, Ionic) and other factors have pushed it off the field.

And so, in total this year, out of Mazda 3's 3,227 units, less than a third of the cars were sold to private customers (782) and the rest to the vehicle fleets and 0 km. The division into sedan and hatchback configurations also tells its story.

With the sales to the vehicle fleets and the 0 km, the share of the sedan configuration also increases (Photo: screenshot, screenshot CARZONE)

But in one place Mazda can be satisfied - they are one of the brands that have been "hit" the least by the corresponding import channel. Only 11 units of cars made by it were registered in the parallel import channels. And even then, these were models that did not come in direct imports at all - the large crossover CX-9 and the small electric crossover MX30.

However, this situation is not going to last long, sources in the field of parallel imports are talking about the entry of new players in the field of parallel imports (which has seen a jump in its volume of activity in the past year) - and these are eyeing parallel marketing of various Mazda models. They are those with propulsion units that are not marketed here by the official importer or marketers where interesting deals can be produced in light of the strength of the shekel.

The actions Mazda will take to turn its market into one that spreads the risks between the private and institutional markets and the success of parallel importers to gain a share of the demand for new cars in 2022 will determine whether this fifth place will be retained in the next summary, or remain as a souvenir of its one-time comeback.