Mazda’s crossover sales are booming, while its ordinary cars plummet.
If you need a case study into the increasing popularity of crossovers and waning demand for sedans, look no further. Mazda’s 2017 sales have held pretty firm over 2016, with only a 3% overall decrease. By the end of 2017, Mazda moved 297,773 cars to consumers. This year, however, they moved just 289,470 units.
That’s not the whole story, though. The brand’s crossovers – namely the all-new CX-5 and CX-9 – are doing quite well. The Miata has also seen a boon in sales this year. However, its ordinary cars have taken a serious tumble, year-on-year, over 2016. Here are Mazda’s 2017 sales winners and losers.
Mazda’s 2017 Sales Winners: CX-5, CX-9, MX-5 Miata
Crossovers have really become Mazda’s bread and butter since the introduction of the new CX-5 back in 2012. While the first generation CX-5 is a great car, the newest model is even better. In December 2016, under the previous generation, Mazda sold 11,989 CX-5s. This December, they moved 14,097 units – a 17.6% increase. For the whole year, they shifted 127,563 CX-5s, versus 112,235 in 2016. That represents a 13.7% sales increase. The CX-5 is, by far and away, Mazda’s best-selling model, and for good reason.
Its bigger brother, the three-row CX-9, also saw strong sales gains in 2017. For the month of December alone, they sold 3,276 units – a 26.3% increase over the same period in 2016. For all of 2017, 25,828 CX-9s were sold, versus 16,051 in 2016. You guys love your three-row crossovers, as that’s a 60.9% increase year-on year.
Mazda’s 2017 Sales Losers: Mazda3, Mazda6
While Mazda’s crossovers sold like hot cakes, their other cars languished. The Mazda3 – once a staple of the brand – only saw 5,669 new owners in December 2017. During the same period in 2016, 8,102 found a home (a 30% decrease). For the whole year, Mazda moved 75,018 Mazda3s, versus 95,567 in 2016 – a 21.5% sales decrease.
The Mazda3’s big brother fared even worse. You all bought 1,776 Mazda6 examples in December 2017, whereas 3,688 were sold during the same period in 2016 (a 51.8% drop). In all of 2017, Mazda moved just 33,402 examples, versus 45,520 in 2016 (a 26.6% decline). As is the way with many brands, this drop is attributable to falling demand for sedans, and indeed hatchbacks, in favor of crossovers.
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