Mazda Australia isn’t worried about influx of new Chinese brands

Mazda Australia is on track to finish 2024 as the third best-selling car brand in the country, but that lead could be eaten away by the influx of new Chinese car brands likely to undercut established players.

Despite this, Mazda Australia marketing boss Alastair Doak said the Japanese marque does not feel threatened by incoming competition.

“In the 23 years I’ve been here, you’re always under pressure from new brands or brands that change their position, or have ambition to sell more, etc, etc,” he said.

“So, are we more or less worried? No, it’s just part of the game.

“You just have to put your best foot forward.

“One of the things we’ve always tried to do is stick to our game.

“If you start looking over your shoulder every five minutes, you can lose your way pretty quickly.

“We’re sticking to a game plan; we want to maximise what we do.”

Mazda Australia is on track to finish out the calendar year with around 100,000 sales, which is tracking behind Toyota and Ford, but ahead of Hyundai and Kia.

Meanwhile, newcomer BYD has ambitions to double its sales in 2024 and again in 2025, putting it at around 50,000 sales in 18 months, while GWM is now a staple in the Top 10 brands each month.

Outside of these brands, close to a dozen new makes will enter Australia over the next 18 months – including Zeekr, Leapmotor, Smart, Xpeng, and Skywell – each promising value-driven electrified models.

When put to Doak that the rising costs of logistics and manufacturing – key drivers in pushing up prices of new cars, as well as profits – would create a gap in the market where new Chinese competitors could easily slot in for budget-conscious buyers, he said each brand is grappling with the same issues.

“Those brands you are hinting at, they’ve changed pricing as well, they’re not where they used to be, so there’s pressure on everybody from a cost space,” he said.

“Again, if we are sitting around that 100,000 [sales] mark, you can’t be at a price point that is unaffordable.”

In August 2020, the Mazda 2 was priced from $20,990 before on-road costs for the G15 Pure manual. That same car is now $24,870, albeit with cosmetic tweaks and small changes.

Mazda’s best-selling CX-5 mid-size SUV now starts at $36,590, whereas four years ago, the equivalent Maxx 2WD automatic was $32,980.

However, as Doak pointed out, Mazda is not the only brand to have shifted pricing in recent years, with Toyota, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, and even MG all marching prices upwards.