Last week, Mazda forecast a net loss of 100 billion yen (US$1.29 billion) for the fiscal year that ends March 31 and a 2 percent drop in its global sales, to 1.25 million units.
This is the fourth year in a row than Mazda records negative results and it's also the company's second biggest loss in the last 11 years after the US$2.0 billion damage it posted in the previous fiscal year that ended in March 2011.
The tough economic conditions forced Mazda CEO, Takashi Yamanouchi, to admit that the automaker is “actively” seeking partners in order to overcome its financial difficulties. Yamanouchi added that raising capital is essential for Mazda, because if it fails to do so will result in possible downgrade.
One way is through the sale of more shares, which Yamanouchi didn’t rule out since he said that “we are considering every option”.
Among Japanese automakers, Mazda exports the greatest percentage of its vehicles. Therefore, the strength of the yen against the U.S. dollar, the Euro and other currencies has seriously diminished its profits from overseas sales.
In order to deal with this situation, Mazda, which is already producing the Mazda2 compact in Vietnam, is currently building a new plant in Mexico that will assemble the Mazda2 subcompact and Mazda3 compact models for the North and South American markets from 2013.
Most of the US$1.2 billion it received in 2009 by selling some of its shares were invested in developing new technologies such as the Skyactiv range of gasoline and diesel engines.
Yamanouchi hopes that the investment in the Skyactiv units was the right thing to do since the fuel-efficient engines may prove an attractive asset in its company’s bid to attract possible partners.
Story References: Autonews [Sub. Req.]
12 Comments:
Mazda should tie up with Mitsubishi and form a Hyundai - Kia type competitive partnership of equals, or with Honda.
I'm betting on the SkyActiv technology pulling Mazda out of the red
Maybe Mazda should have listened to the public several years ago about the gaping smiley face grill being downright ugly since only rental car companies buy ugly cars.
Hyundai bought Kia in 1998.
Have you seen a new Mazda6 around town? None. It's a shame. Bring back the RX-7 and some image for the company.
I guess they still don't get it. That awful smiley face grille they slapped on just about every vehicle is a sales killer. When the new 6 came out I tried to get my wife interested in it. She took one look at the front end and said it looked like Sid the sloth from Ice Age and there was no way she would drive something that ugly.
I was talking about the business model, of tale Renault - Nissan or Peugeot - Citroen then.
Right, Mazda 3 is the best selling cars in Australia and Canada and in several other places, and gained market share on several other market because it's ugly, Just because you don't like something, does not mean others won't like it.
The Mazda 3 never was the best selling car in Canada, ever.
That distinction belongs to the Civic.
Source: http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/01/honda-civic-best-selling-car-in-canada.html
Market your cars aggressively in Developing emerging markets. You don't know what treasures await you Mazda. People world over know about Mazda's engineering.
the new cx-k looks awesome, i just wish it wasn't a mazda. the name mazda just sounds wrong, imo
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