Mazda sales to slow in the second half of 2016

The Japanese brand’s local chief, managing director Martin Benders, said at the launch of the new CX-9 SUV that the numbers have been strong so far, but they won’t be maintained over the coming six months.

“We’ve had an awesome first half, finishing just shy of 61,000 units – an all-time record for Mazda Australia, and the first time we will hold 10 per cent market share at the halfway point,” Benders said.

“Now obviously the temptation is just to double that number for the whole year, but we are already running low on Mazda 3 stock, with an upgrade model later this quarter,” he said.

That Mazda 3 update (pictured above, spy image) will see the diesel model dropped, and the car will bring new equipment and a slightly revised look.

“We also have ongoing capacity constraints for CX production, and we believe we’ll see a slightly lower second half, with a realistic full-year sales result of around 118,000 units, or 3.5 per cent year-over-year improvement,” Benders said.

Still, at 118,000 units Mazda would likely rank second overall behind Toyota, and next year when the brand sees stock of the Mazda 3 range catch up with demand – as well as a full year of CX-9 sales – the numbers could well rise.

“Obviously CX-9 will be selling well in the second half, but we’ll only have half a year contributing to the whole year result,” he said.

But Benders said that the target of 118,000 units may not come off if the economic climate remains jittery. Considerations that may impact sales, by way of a lack of consumer confidence, includes Brexit, currency changes, a possible change of Australian government and maybe even a controversial US presidential candidate taking office.

“We see the second half possibly coming under pressure, so in that context we remain a little bit conservative in our outlook,” Benders said.

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