12:31 pm, May 15, 2023
Mazda shifted 1,110,000 vehicles over the past year – down from 1,251,000 the year before.
But that 11.3 per cent drop in worldwide sales over the 12-month period to March 31, 2023 still brought in £23.6bn of revenue, which was a 23 per cent rise on the same period the previous year, according to results just published.
That saw Mazda make a global net income – or pre-tax profit – of £880m, which it said was up 75 per cent on the year before.
European sales dropped by 16 per cent for full fiscal year at 160,000 units, but Mazda said the region still ended the year with a strong fourth quarter, achieving a 21 per cent year-on-year growth.
It attributed that mainly to its electrified models such as the Mazda2 Hybrid and the Mazda CX-60 PHEV.
North America remained its most popular region, selling 407,000 units in the fiscal year – led by the local launch of the Mazda CX-50, the Mazda CX-30 and other models – although even there sales figures were seven per cent down on the year before.
In Mazda’s home market of Japan, 165,000 units were sold in the full fiscal year, which was 11 per cent up year on year.
China – Mazda’s biggest market in Asia – ended the fiscal year on sales of 84,000 units, which was 51 per cent down on the year before and continued the decline in the region: last year’s figure of 170,000 units was 26 per cent down on 2021’s fiscal year.
For the current fiscal year, ending in March 2024, Mazda said its outlook was positive for all regions, including Europe, where it forecasts sales of 189,000 units – an 18 per cent year-on-year rise – while global sales are projected to reach 1.3m.
As such, it is predicting sales worth some £28.09bn but a net income of some £813.4m.
It added that it will continue expanding the introduction of PHEVs and mild-hybrid applications.
