Mazda, the BMW of Japan, may still have a chance to save itself in fuel vehicles

Mazda is known as the BMW of Japan. But when BMW itself began to be unable to take care of itself, the BMW of Japan was even more at a loss.

Recently, a sales data of Changan Mazda has caused heated discussion. On January 1, Changan Mazda’s official Weibo account announced that its sales in 2024 would increase by 8% year-on-year, leading the industry in growth rate. However, just three days later, Changan Automobile’s official data showed that its full-year sales fell by 14.69% year-on-year.

In response, Mazda explained that both sets of data are correct, and the difference stems from different statistical methods: Changan Group counts wholesale data, while the data released by Changan Mazda’s official Weibo account is retail data.

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this explanation. But in reality, everyone knows what this statistical method is.

This is not a tongue twister, but we also have to understand Changan Mazda's desire to survive - sales volume is really nothing to look at, and a piece of "beautiful" data can boost everyone's confidence in the brand.

As one of the few "strong holdouts" among joint ventures, although Mazda's sales have not been at the top in recent years, it has gained a lot of "loyal fans" with its mature fuel technology.

After the "yin-yang sales" was revealed, Mazda's brand image declined instead of improving, and it lost the trust of many users. Many netizens began to question whether Mazda had no hope of recovery.

In fact, being stuck in the sales "Rashomon" is just one of the manifestations of Mazda's predicament. In fact, Mazda's sales have been not so good as early as a few years ago.

Looking back over the past few years, Changan Mazda's sales have shown a continuous downward trend. Since its sales in China exceeded 300,000 units for the first time in 2017, Mazda's sales have been declining year by year.

In 2018, Mazda's annual sales in China fell to 272,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 12%. In 2019, Mazda's annual sales in China fell to 227,800 vehicles, completing only 84.3% of its annual sales target.

In 2020, Mazda's annual sales in China were 214,600 vehicles. In August 2021, FAW Mazda announced its withdrawal from the historical stage. So far, Mazda has only one joint venture in the Chinese market, Changan Mazda.

Last year, Changan Mazda's cumulative sales in China were only 88,600 vehicles, less than one-third of the 300,000 vehicles at its peak. This is also the sixth consecutive year of declining sales in the Chinese market.

Even though Mazda tried to reduce prices to increase sales, with some models reduced by as much as 70,000 yuan, the effect was still not significant.

Mazda (China) executives have said more than once that Mazda will not follow the trend of price cuts for sales promotions. The current practice is clearly a departure from Mazda's consistent "value marketing" philosophy.

The deviation of the concept has further reduced Mazda's influence among the masses. In June 2024, Changan Mazda's sales volume was only 5,535 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 25.31%. This figure is far below the industry average, and Changan Mazda failed to achieve its original intention of boosting sales through price cuts and promotions.

The reason for this result is also closely related to Mazda's performance in the new energy era. Entering the new energy era, Mazda began to be unable to cope with it, and the new energy models it launched could never win the hearts of users.

For example, the Mazda EZ-6, which was created by Mazda with Chinese origin, attracted much attention at the time. Deng Zhitao, executive vice president of Changan Mazda, once said, "The pricing strategy of the EZ-6 is very competitive, providing the luxury experience of a B-class car at the price of an A-class car."

Although the rendering is good, it did not receive much market feedback after it was launched. We can get direct confirmation from the data. The passenger car retail data in December 2024 showed that Mazda EZ-6 sold only 1,017 units in December 2024, which was halved from the 2,445 units sold in November 2024. The ranking in its market segment slipped to 19th, which is a difficult ranking to describe.

So, why did the Mazda EZ-6, which was born on the Changan EPA platform and has attracted much attention from the brand, not get a "high score"?

To put it bluntly, it is because this new car, which represents the brand's new energy attitude, has not shown real sincerity. In fact, this car has been very controversial from the beginning, and rumors about its appearance borrowing too much have continued.

Some netizens even pointed out that although the Mazda EZ-6 continues Mazda's "Soul of Motion" design concept, its details are highly similar to the Changan Deep Blue SL03, and it is even questioned as a "re-shelled" product.

The lack of innovation in design has greatly weakened consumers' desire to buy. At the same time, Mazda EZ-6 also exposed many problems in product quality.

Some car owners reported that the model had problems such as abnormal noise and insensitive power response during driving. In addition, its intelligent driving assistance system also had false detection problems, which brought hidden dangers to driving safety.

These problems show that in the new energy era, Changan Mazda is not fully prepared in R&D and innovation, and it is difficult to meet consumers' high demands for product personalization and differentiation.

Nowadays, joint venture brands are facing increasing pressure to survive, and no one can be immune. The "yin and yang sales" incident shows that Mazda is unable to meet its sales goals. For Mazda, which is relatively second-tier, while accelerating electrification, it should also continue to play its fuel advantages and walk on two legs like many traditional car companies, which may be more conducive to its foothold in the Chinese market.