This week, Mazda announced that it turned an annual net profit for the first time in five years. The Japanese carmaker reported pocketing a total of $364.3 (€279.6) million at the end of the 2012 fiscal year, on March 31, whereas on the same day of 2011, they had recorded a loss of $1.14 (€0.87) billion. Despite the fact that it was not mentioned, it is quite possible that the CX-5 crossover, which is hugely-popular world-wide, is the model which caused the turnaround.
However, it seems they still aren’t pleasing North American customers the way they should, because their sales figures fell somewhat short. The US separately recorded a 2 percent increase, which is also attributed to the CX-5, but the company’s North American (N.A.) loses reached $519.1 million, up from $427.8 million the previous year. Mazda is more optimistic for the next year as it predicts a boost in N.A. sales by 11 percent, up from 380,000 units in 2012 to around 415,000 units.
They base this on the fact that their new crossover has already consolidated its position, and that sales of the new Mazda6 sedan have gone into full swing this year. Also, 2013 will be marked by the introduction of another important model for the Hiroshima-based automaker – the new Mazda3 compact.
Moving into Europe, Mazda reports that 2012 was a modest year, as revenue fell 2 percent and sales 6 percent, and yet they predict a 17 percent increase in sales this year, which should see them nudging the 200,000 units mark.
By Andrei Nedelea
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