CX-30 optimism remains though some orders lost

The CX-30 releases into a different market environment Mazda had forecast just a few weeks ago.

ACCEPTANCE this year’s new car market might crash and deliver just half the 2019 volume hasn’t destroyed Mazda NZ’s confidence, yet will steer sales expectation. 

In discussing hopes for the CX-30 compact crossover, which stands as the first new car to launch nationally since the Covd-19 lockdown enacted, the brand has admitted some would-be buyers have already u-turned and pulled out of deals.

The Mazda3-based five-seater priced from $41,490 to $50,990 will become available from next Tuesday, a timing that synchs in with a relaxation in national restrictions that allows resumption of car sales, though with caveat of this being contactless. So, no showroom visits and a continuation of social distancing which demands care when handing over new cars to customers.

The release is subsequent to a dismal forecast from the Motor Industry Association. The national body representing new vehicle distributors is predicting the new car and light commercial count this year could be 40 to 50 percent lower than last year’s count of 154,763 units 

The industry is also anticipating potential of hugely diminished fleet interest, mainly from the crucial rental sector, which appears to have skidded to a sudden halt as result of tourism freeze.

Nonetheless, Mazda NZ is putting on a brave face. It still sees some business sector opportunity for CX-30, moreso than comes with its other crossover contenders, notably from small to medium businesses.

Even so, it will be mainly reliant on private buyer interest in its new model which, as essentially an elevated version of the Mazda3 hatchback becomes the fifth crossover Hiroshima offers and places above the CX-3 and below the CX-5 that has been their best-selling model for some time.

In an online presentation today, Mazda NZ’s managing director, David Hodge, and his manager of product and sales planning, Tim Nalden, signalled that as much as CX-30 is ‘right’ for the market – aiming at the compact crossover category that was showing best growth prior to the coronavirus emergency - market conditions could not be more challenging.

The Auckland-domiciled operation has passed on sharing volume expectations for the car and admits that an original launch timing stymied by the lockdown has been so disrupted by the ensuing national situation that much pre-crisis forecasting has effectively been rendered useless.

Yet that wasn’t just his brand’s dilemma; Nalden hazards the entire car business is in the same situation.

“If you asked anyone (in the industry) what the forecast will be, I doubt anyone will be able to give an accurate reading.”

The market is all but impossible to read. “I suspect you will see that change, day by day, week by week, month by month as we work through this ... at the end of the day, who knows?”

The MIA’s sobering assessment of 2020 has come from canvassing opinion from all new vehicle distributors here and has since been supported by an Infometrics forecast, issued yesterday, Hodge says.

Nalden says Mazda NZ has lost orders for Mazda product, CX-30s included, since lockdown hit. He and expected more cancellations to come. This after such strong interest in CX-30 that 50 percent of the initial shipment had been spoken for during January and February.

“Yes, we have had some orders cancelled … and that is simply just potentially reflecting the state of the economy and anxiety around job security and also the propensity to be able to spend money.

“I would be surprised if 100 percent of all of the deposits currently on our vehicles are retained. 

“I think it’s just natural that we can’t expect everyone to stay there, nor should be expect to force people to have to follow through (on deals) if their financial position has changed.”

Hodge has reinforced that Mazda NZ will extend vehicle warranties if they expire during the period of the lockdown, and look after vehicles that have become overdue for their servicing.

As coronavirus continues to spread across the world, car makers are taking the extreme measure of plant closures, mainly in China, South Korea and Europe – though several there seem to be looking to restart soon – and in America, where makers have extended shutdown periods.

Japan’s car industry seems to have been spared the worst in that only factories outside of their home country have been hit. Domestic assembly lines, including those in Hiroshima that makes CX-30 and most other core passenger product for NZ, are still operating. The bigger question hangs over the supply of part from third-party providers. China is the primary provider of components for the world’s car makers; the epicentre of that industry is, ironically, the place where coronavirus was first identified, Wuhan. 

Nalden says supply to New Zealand remains good and the stock count here is healthy.

“We've had a month without any selling, so naturally stock is higher than usual.”

Added Hodge: “Mazda has good stocks of new vehicles that should last us at least three months. But going forward, it is obvious the vehicle supply pipeline will be disrupted.”

Longer term, Nalden anticipates the situation in respect to ‘indent’ models – the industry parlance for variants of such low volume they are secured through placing customer orders at the factory - and also for supply in the medium term could yet become less clear. 

“While our factories in Japan and Thailand are still operational, each factory is running less staff and reduced shifts (for social distancing) and consequently outputs are lower.

“Also, given each country around the world is at different stages with the pandemic, component supply is less assured than normal.”

On top of this, the shipping lines are altering schedules, as volumes have changed markedly for all automotive brands.

This report includes additional reporting by Rob Maetzig

CX-30 snuggles close to sister models

The latest addition to Mazda’s already well-configured crossover family touches into siblings’ patches.

WHEN space is tight, muscle in – that’s the tactic Mazda has employed with it its latest addition to the CX family.

In advance of an on-line discussion tomorrow where strategies are expected to be outlined, the Auckland domiciled brand has released specification and pricing detail of its CX-30 five-seater elevated crossover hatch. 

The information confirms it will initially foot three versions, with a Takami flagship following in the second half of 2020.

Those here now have drivetrains already used elsewhere in the family - though CX-30’s versions of the SkyActive-G petrols are finessed for slightly different outputs – whereas the Takami will introduce the new SkyActiv-X tech.

The coupe-like styling delivers a new spin on the established Kodo styling. A more modern platform and enhanced versions of the driver assist and comfort tech that comes in other Mazdas also feature.

Also interesting is the price positioning of the base GSX front-drive, with a 140kW/200Nm 2.0-litre engine, and a pair of 140kW/252Nm 2.5-litre all-wheel-variants, badged GTX and Limited.

The recommended retails of $41,490, $44,990 and $50,990 further cement that, in order to make room for a car that would have been called CX-4 - had that designation not gone to a model developed purely for China - the product planners had to work beyond the clear air that existed between the CX-3 and CX-5, which defy the CX-30’s ‘first ever’ marketing tag (insisted because it goes a bit more coupe-like) by very obviously being sister cars. 

The newcomer’s potential to pluck sales from each camp has always seemed strong – it’s bigger and better-kitted than the CX-3 and more modern and arguably more stylish, inside and out, than the CX-5 and nips ahead on core safety and assist considerations. Any advantage with the latter should be a fleeting, as updates to CX-5 have been announced in other markets.

However, the pricing plan is bound to raise interest, as it establishes the newcomer with a foot in each existing camp.

Consumers eyeing up the entry CX-30 will note it is $205 cheaper than a CX-3 Takami but otherwise dearer than the less well-provisioned editions of the smallest Mazda rock hopper.

Consideration against the CX-5 reveals more to think about, as the incursion is more pronounced.

Keeping comparison to just petrol all-wheel-drive options seems only reasonable – there are two CX-5s with a turbodiesel, but that engine is not on CX-30’s horizon. 

Anyway, if customers chasing the most expensive CX-30, the Limited, are looking to see how it stacks up against CX-5, they’ll see it basically sits midway between the base and Limited editions of the larger model.

So there’s that to consider. Then there’s the size. The CX-30 was developed through recognition some customers think the CX-3 is a bit too small and the CX-5 a bit too big.

If actual dimensions are required to get a true feel for where it stands, then note that at 4395mm long and 1795mm wide, the CX-30 is 120mm longer and 30mm wider than a CX-3 and 155mm shorter, 45mm narrower and 150mm lower than a CX-5.

A first appraisal – prior to shut down – showed it’s roomier than the smaller car, more snug than the larger, but by less of a margin. Basically, it eats the CX-3 as a four to five seater, but is so close to being up to CX-5 level that it will create significant discussion about rear seat, head space and lower leg room.

Same goes when comparing cargo room. CX-30’s seats-up boot space of 317 litres above the boot floor is a useful 53L over the CX-3, while using underfloor storage brings the total to 430L on most variants. That’s just 12 litres short of the CX-5’s cited capacity. 

As for spec?  Yes, the GSX and GTX grades are more workmanlike, inside and out, but really only stand apart by having cloth trim (whereas the Limited steps up to black leather) and smaller wheels with less sporty tyres.

That first look suggests cabin environments are common and all variants have blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and lane keep assist, radar cruise control with Stop and Go, rear cross traffic alert, reversing camera, traffic sign recognition and smart brake support. 

but the latest Mazda Connect infotainment system, with integrated satellite navigation plus phone-mirroring technologies Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, via an 8.8-inch wide-screen centre display, spans the family.

A high plaudit from our only recognized safety auditor, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, also goes to all models. ANCAP has given it a record near-perfect 99 percent score for passive safety in adult occupant protection and a five-star rating.

When it comes to considering how they perform, everything might come down to driving feel rather than outputs, because the one common link between all three is under their bonnets. 

The 2.0-litre in the CX-30 is also employed by the CX-3 – where the state of tune is lower - and entry CX-5, where the outputs are identical to those claimed for the new car. 

The 2.5-litre engine in CX-30 only otherwise goes into CX-5. It makes the same torque output in either application and there’s just 1kW power difference. All have six-speed automatics. The CX-30 all-wheel-drive system is like that in the CX-5 2.5 

With all this going on, Mazda NZ managing director Dave Hodge is patently not understating anything in proposing that this latest and fifth crossover has had to “create its own space in the small SUV segment”

Nonetheless, in comment sent out ahead of the on-line conference he suggests CX-30 will be able to chart its own course with confidence through having “the practicality of an SUV combined with coupé-like styling and dynamic handling inspired by its small car sibling, Mazda3.”

Proposing the car as complete package for customers looking for a practical, stylish vehicle without compromising on performance, he suggests it will do well simply from having a more modern interior than the CX cars positioned on either side of it and also from touting the most advanced systems and technology. 

Integral to CX-30’s drive experience is Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) which sets out to enhance handling stability by using brake and engine control to help the vehicle respond to sudden steering inputs and give the driver confidence when cornering.

The CX-30’s 2.5-litre also have cylinder deactivation, which contributes to fuel economy by shutting-down the outer two cylinders when driving at constant speeds, and the all-wheel-drive has 27 sensors that monitor environmental and vehicle conditions at a computation rate of 200 times per second to predict traction requirements before wheel slip occurs.

Special edition Mazdas honour a corker Kei

Who’d ever guess a brand that aces with the young-at-heart has just hit its century?

MAZDA marking its 100th year with the business it is best known for nowadays is a reminder that, like most car brands, it started out doing something else.

Still, vehicles are its game now, so the 100th Anniversary Special Edition models that will be availing to Kiwi customers soon are the best carriers of the celebratory mood.

Think of these as being a recognition of what could be called a corker of an idea, which traces back to January 30, 1920, in the make’s home city of Hiroshima, Japan. More about that in a minute.

But, obviously, with vehicles by far and away being what it’s best known for nowadays, they’re the best products to tie back to a special moment in time.

Basically, all the passenger models Mazda makes are coming to the party, with a special trim that’ll has gone into production and will remain available until March next year. None are in New Zealand yet. Mazda NZ will announce more about what cars it will offer and when in coming months.

The special vehicles are easily identified. They’re in a white (Snow Flake White Pearl Mica)-and-burgundy two-tone. Also included are burgundy floor carpets, specially-embossed floor mats and head rests, unique key fobs and centre wheelcaps with a 100th Anniversary logo. And, of course, a special badge.

The colour scheme is all part of the story, being a hat-tip to Mazda’s first passenger car, the R360 Coupe. Which came out 60 years ago.

So what was Mazda up to for the 40 years prior to that? Well, plenty of stuff.

The company’s genesis goes back to the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co Ltd, which was founded in Hiroshima. As the name suggests, it was an industry that made products from cork.

Seven years later the company changed its name to Toyo Kogyo Co Ltd,  and four years after that it moved into the manufacture of vehicles when it introduced a three-wheel ‘truck’ called Mazda-Go, which  was powered by an air-cooled single cylinder motorcycle engine.

This vehicle was the world’s first engine-powered rickshaw, and it also represented first use of the word Mazda, which derives from Ahura Mazda – the god of harmony, intelligence and wisdom. This in the hope that it would brighten the image of the little vehicle. Well, that’s how the company history relates it.

There has also always been a theory that the word had a close association with the company’s founder, Jujiro Matsuda, whose family name was pronounced very close to “Mazda”.

Whatever the reason, the little rickshaw’s name obviously worked, because the Mazda-Go and its successors went on to enjoy a strong career right through into the post-WW2 era, when it began to be replaced by a range of three-wheeled Mazda trucks such as the K360 and the T-2000.

And of course that in turn led to Toyo Kogyo turning its attention to passenger vehicles, which resulted in the 1960 launch of one of the original Japanese ‘Kei’ cars, the famous Mazda R360 Coupe.

And that’s the car that Mazda Motor Corporation is now honouring with its range of 100th Anniversary Special Edition vehicles.

Sales are scheduled to kick off in Japan from June, firstly with the Mazda, Mazda3 and CX-3, followed from July with the CX-30, CX-5, CX-8, MX-5 and RF, and finally from September with the Mazda6.

Then it will be the turn of the rest of the world – New Zealand included – to get their hands on the celebratory cars.

In so many respects the little R360 Coupe is the ideal car for Mazda to use as the centrepoint of its centennial celebrations.

By today’s standards the car looked quite weird. Maybe even kooky. And also by today’s standards it was seriously underpowered – it offered all of 12kW of power and 22Nm of torque.

But this was 1960, a time when Japan was still recovering economically and socially from the ravages of World War 2, and the only way most families could afford a vehicle was to opt for the insurance and tax breaks on offer with the so-called Kei car, which had to be the smallest highway-legal passenger vehicle.

When the first Kei cars were built in 1949, the rules said their engines must have cubic capacities of no more than 150cc. That was increased to 360cc in late 1955, and that immediately led to development of a raft of micro-mini cars including such product as the Suzuki Suzulight and the Subaru 360.

And then, in May 1960, the Mazda R360 Coupe. The little two-door 2+2 had a wheelbase of just 1753mm, weighed 380kg, and was powered by a rear-mounted 356cc engine that developed the 12kW and 22Nm. To put those figures into some sort of perspective, the smallest Mazda you can buy in New Zealand today, the Mazda2, has a 2570mm wheelbase, weighs 1100kg, and has a 1496cc engine that develops 82kW and 144Nm.

But 60 years ago, the Japanese loved the R360. It immediately proved so successful that more than 23,000 of them were sold during the remainder of that year, and it soon gained a massive 65 per cent of the domestic Kei car market. 

As a result, not only did it sell for six years, but it spawned other product – a convertible, a front-engined pickup truck, and perhaps most significantly a four-door sedan called the P360 ‘Carol’ that remained on the market for eight years until 1970.

Actually you can still buy a new Mazda Carol in Japan – but these days it is a rebadged Suzuki Alto. As a result there are plenty of used import Suzuki-built Carols in New Zealand, and we at MotoringNZ.com are aware of at least one 1962 Carol here, but we don’t know if there are any of the original R360 Coupes in the country. We hope there is. Maybe an owner somewhere can contact us to let us know what it is like to drive?

From a technology perspective, what was admirable about the R360 Coupe was its innovation. It was the first use of a four-stroke engine in a passenger vehicle, it had a torque converter, a four-wheel independent suspension, and there was significant use of alloy in an effort to keep its weight down.

Little wonder then that its manufacturer went on to produce the technologically advanced product it is famous for. Product such as all the rotary-engined Mazdas that began with the Cosmo Sport in 1967, the famous MX-5 roadster  from 1989, and all the SkyActiv features in today’s passenger vehicles.

It’s all worth celebrating, isn’t it? So happy 100th birthday, Mazda.