Mazda China to revise 300,000-unit sales target

Shanghai, November 21 (Gasgoo.com) Mazda China will have to revise its mid-term sales target of 300,000 units by 2010, or delay this goal, due to the underperformance of Changan Mazda in the China market, reported Beijing Times, citing a top executive of the company. However, this will not affect the anticipation of Mazda's operations in China.

Noriaki Yamada, President and chief operating officer of Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd., said in a recent interview with the Chinese newspaper that it seems hard to for his company to achieve the mid-term target of selling 300,000 vehicles annually by 2010 in China and this previously set goal will have to be scaled down or to be fulfilled at some later time. Mazda is likely to see slower sales in China in 2009, but zero-growth will not occur to its sales, he said.

In the first ten months of 2008, Mazda reached sales of 105,000 vehicles, with 70,000 units sold by FAW Mazda and 35,000 units by Changan Mazda. As the global and Chinese auto markets are still sluggish and show no sign of great recovery, Mazda China feels it necessary to postpone the fulfilment of the annual sales target of 300,000 vehicles beyond 2010. Its sales goal for 2009 is undecided yet, given the current financial crisis.

"As the market segment has not matched up to our expectations, the newly launched model Mazda 2 will need longer time for the market to receive it better," said Noriaki Yamada. The price of mazda 2 will be adjusted as well if its close rivals, such as New Fit (by Guangzhou Hinda) and New Vios (by FAW Toyota) begin to sell at a lower price in the same segment.

Despite the market slump in China these months, Mazda remains confident of its better future operations and growth in the world’s second largest auto market, added the COO of Mazda China.