[Lando]

Mazda won't be selling the Mazda2 in the US.

“We could have had it, but we would have had a number that didn’t make much sense with 600 dealers and with the marketing it takes to launch a new car,” said Davis, Mazda's senior vice-president of US operations, in an interview with Automotive News. “I wanted to allocate resources to those products that make us and our dealers considerably more profit than a Mazda2 does.”

Toyota will likely be happy about this news since now there is only one brand that sells the Mazda2 (Scion iA) in the US, and that's Scion.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/05/mazda2-dropped-from-us-market.html

 

[Moe]

Great news, just what Scion needed for a stronger selling product as there might be the chance that folks respond better to the Mazda2 than to a Scion product, since more are far more familiar with Mazda than they are of Scion.

 

[Dr.S]

Great news, just what Scion needed for a stronger selling product as there might be the chance that folks respond better to the Mazda2 than to a Scion product, since more are far more familiar with Mazda than they are of Scion.

How is this good news? As a potential customer, I was hoping for more choice, and for the opportunity to pit the Mazda dealer against the Scion dealer in order to negotiate a better deal for what is effectively the same car >

 

[scionic]

bad call on Mazda's part, just because fuel prices are better that shouldn't stop them from selling the Mazda2 in america unless they cut a deal with toyota on the iA that they rather not let us know about.

 

[Moe]

How is this good news? As a potential customer, I was hoping for more choice, and for the opportunity to pit the Mazda dealer against the Scion dealer in order to negotiate a better deal for what is effectively the same car >

How?... i'll bold it for you:

Great news, just what Scion needed for a stronger selling product as there might be the chance that folks respond better to the Mazda2 than to a Scion product, since more are far more familiar with Mazda than they are of Scion.

 

[Lando]

I figure that Mazda had this planned when they gave the Mazda2 to Scion. No point competing with the very same vehicle from another brand. And apparently it wasn't selling great anyway.

What do you think Toyota is going to give them in return?

 

[SRV]

I was under impression Mazda would still be selling the Mazda 2 here as a hatch?

 

[Dr.S]

I think the PR about not having resources to launch the new 2 is just a cover for the fact that Mazda probably signed a time period exclusive OEM deal with Toyota and neither company is copping to it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mazda2 is quietly rolled out 18 months from now (or whenever Toyota's exclusive period is over). Toyota probably demanded an exclusive period to market and sell the iA in the US in exchange for guarantee to take certain volume of output from the Mazda factory in Mexico. Mazda needed that guarantee to reduce its risks.

Why would Mazda go ahead with the 2 launch in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico!!!) if it determined it wasn't worth it to launch it on the mainland? Mazda sold 2,534 vehicles in Puerto Rico in 2014... That's barely a blip on the radar. So if it doesn't make any sense to sell the 2 on the mainland, it definitely won't make sense to sell it on Puerto Rico only. The only logical explanation is that Toyota is not selling Scion iA in Puerto Rico (or the exclusive deal only covers the 50 states), hence Mazda can launch the 2 there.

Note the absence of any mention of iA on the Scion Puerto Rico website, vs. the US website which has the iA prominently featured.

Mazda is a much stronger company in Canada so it can tell Toyota to pound sand there.

 

[SRV]

I think the PR about not having resources to launch the new 2 is just a cover for the fact that Mazda probably signed a time period exclusive OEM deal with Toyota and neither company is copping to it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mazda2 is quietly rolled out 18 months from now (or whenever Toyota's exclusive period is over). Toyota probably demanded an exclusive period to market and sell the iA in the US in exchange for guarantee to take certain volume of output from the Mazda factory in Mexico. Mazda needed that guarantee to reduce its risks.

Why would Mazda go ahead with the 2 launch in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico!!!) if it determined it wasn't worth it to launch it on the mainland? Mazda sold 2,534 vehicles in Puerto Rico in 2014... That's barely a blip on the radar. So if it doesn't make any sense to sell the 2 on the mainland, it definitely won't make sense to sell it on Puerto Rico only. The only logical explanation is that Toyota is not selling Scion iA in Puerto Rico (or the exclusive deal only covers the 50 states), hence Mazda can launch the 2 there.

Note the absence of any mention of iA on the Scion Puerto Rico website, vs. the US website which has the iA prominently featured.

Mazda is a much stronger company in Canada so it can tell Toyota to pound sand there.

Canada will get the 2 as a hatch and the sedan as a Yaris. Canadians actually have an affinity for the small hatches for some reason.

Keep in mind, PR has far different demographics, desires, needs and buying habits then your average family of 5 in Ohio.

But yes its a strange move, Mazda moved 19K 2's at its peak in 2012, and since then they roughly double Scion in total sales...

If I had to put money down, Mazda is protecting the CX-3, CAnada doesn't need the insulation because people who buy hatches in Canada are buying hatches for a reason. In the states there is a bit more ambiguity for 'small car shoppers'. Note the recent example of Audi killing the A3 hatch when they brought the Q3 over as they felt there wasn't enough volume to go around.

 

[Dr.S]

Canada will get the 2 as a hatch and the sedan as a Yaris. Canadians actually have an affinity for the small hatches for some reason.

Keep in mind, PR has far different demographics, desires, needs and buying habits then your average family of 5 in Ohio.

But yes its a strange move, Mazda moved 19K 2's at its peak in 2012, and since then they roughly double Scion in total sales...

If I had to put money down, Mazda is protecting the CX-3, CAnada doesn't need the insulation because people who buy hatches in Canada are buying hatches for a reason. In the states there is a bit more ambiguity for 'small car shoppers'. Note the recent example of Audi killing the A3 hatch when they brought the Q3 over as they felt there wasn't enough volume to go around.

Good points here. I'm sure the presence of the CX-3 played a part in Mazda's decision making. Mazda can sell the CX-3 at a higher transaction price than the 2, for mostly the same parts, and earn more profit. Why cannibalize the more profitable CX-3 with Mazda 2?


In the end though, the consumer loses. Thankfully we will have the Scion iA in the US for those of us that want a Mazda 2 that is not jacked up on stilts.

 

[Moe]

Plus those that really look deep enough will see this iA is really just a Mazda, some dealers might be nice enough to let some interested in a cheap compact to know that, if they can't budge on a CX-3 or M3, might as well!

 

[SRV]

Plus those that really look deep enough will see this iA is really just a Mazda, some dealers might be nice enough to let some interested in a cheap compact to know that, if they can't budge on a CX-3 or M3, might as well!

no shot. The salespeople don't care whats good for Mazda in terms of overarching business strategy, but they do care about tacking one more sale onto the dealership total

 

[Lando]

no shot. The salespeople don't care whats good for Mazda in terms of overarching business strategy, but they do care about tacking one more sale onto the dealership total

Totally agree. The end goal and only goal is to sell a car at their dealership to add a notch to their tally and get closer to their quota.

 

[Moe]

no shot. The salespeople don't care whats good for Mazda in terms of overarching business strategy, but they do care about tacking one more sale onto the dealership total

True.

Anything to win that toaster at the end of the month.