Mazda May Sales Drops 2%

Earlier this week, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) announced that it had a 2 percent drop in its May 2007 sales as compared to its sales the same period last year.

However, despite such decline in the Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), Mazda Canada, Incorporated announced the company’s best-ever May sales that amounted to 10,312 representing a 20 percent increase of over the same period last year; Mazda de Mexico also had its best-ever month of May with sales of 1,503, which is a whopping 277 percent increase; and Mazda North America reached the sales of 38,603 representing an increase of 5.9 percent.

Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of MNAO, said that consumers are cautious about the things they purchase due to the continued uncertainties in housing, fuel prices and interest rates. He further said that these quirky times have more of an effect on smaller companies like Mazda than they might have for larger companies, as depicted on Mazda’s sales gains and losses for this year.

The MAZDA3 is leading the volume of the company. Its sales amount to 11,316 off three-percent from last year. Even with minimal incentive support, the vehicle remains a sales success for the company in its fourth year of production. As of May 2007, MAZDA3 sales are up 20.8-percent.

Meanwhile, the MX-5 Miata announced sales of 1,959, which is up 7.1 percent year-over-year. Since 2001, these sales are so far registered as the best May. The MX-5 Miata is available as both a soft-top and Power Retractable Hard Top model. With more than 850,000 sold since 1989, the vehicle is the best-selling two-seat roadster of all time.

About Mazda North American Operations

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California. Its task is to supervise the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico through almost 900 dealers.

Canada operations are managed by Mazda Canada, Incorporated. It is located in Ontario, Canada. Meanwhile, Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City manages operations in Mexico.

About Mazda Motor Corporation

A Japanese auto maker that is based in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation expected to build 1.25 million vehicles annually as of 2006. The sales will be evenly divided among Japan, Europe, North and Latin America.

Maker of quality Mazda fuel injector, Mazda is a member of the Ford Motor Company.

About The Name Mazda

The name Mazda is supposedly derived from Ahura Mazda, the transcendental God of Zoroastrianism. Moreover, it is also said that Mazda coincides with the anglicized pronunciation of the founder's name, Jujiro Matsuda, who was interested in spirituality. According to this belief, he chose to rename it in honor of both his family and the Zoroastrians.

In the Avestan language, “Wisdom” is the corresponding meaning of Mazda. In Japanese, however, the company has always been pronounced and spelled as "Matsuda". In effect, this led many to believe that Mazda is really just a poorly anglicized version of the name of the founder.