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Mazda braces for record annual operating loss as car sales slump

TOKYO — Mazda Motor Corp forecast a record annual operating loss on Friday as the Japanese automaker continues to be pummeled by falling vehicle sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan's No. 5 automaker anticipates a 40 billion yen ($383.5 million) loss for the year to March, joining a growing number of automakers, including Ford and Nissan, which expect annual losses after the virus shuttered vehicle plants and kept customers away from car dealerships. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the maker of the CX-5 SUV crossover and the Mazda3 sedan had been suffering from sliding profits for the past two years as slim new vehicle offerings has knocked sales in the United States and China, its two biggest markets. In the year to March, Mazda anticipates an 8% fall in global vehicle sales to 1.3 million units, its lowest in seven years, which will likely result in an operating loss. The automaker said it would forgo paying a dividend this year. Ahead of Friday's announcement, the company's shares fell 7%, as the consensus forecast in a Refinitiv poll of 19 analysts was for a 46 billion yen annual loss. Mazda posted an operating loss of 45.3 billion yen for the first quarter, its weakest in 11 years, due to a 31% drop in vehicle sales between April and June. In the April-June quarter, sales fell to 244,000 units, largely due to a drop in demand at home and in Europe. Sales in North America, Mazda's biggest market, fell 19% in the same period. But China was a bright spot, as sales rose 13% during the quarter as car demand has returned to the world's largest auto market, having recovered relatively quickly from the virus.

Mazda MX-5 GT gets green light

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is as popular around the Autoblog offices as Kate Upton posters are around fraternity houses. Few staffers have much criticism for Mazda's ubiquitous roadster, and fewer still aren't overjoyed when one arrives in their driveway. So you can imagine how a report from Auto Express about a more potent MX-5 model is going over in our offices today.
The new model, which was shown in concept form as the Mazda MX-5 GT at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, has a slight catch, though. First, we have absolutely no idea if Mazda will bring the MX-5 GT to the US. Secondly, and perhaps more problematically, this isn't a production car - it's a kit from the team at Jota Sport.
Now, to be fair, the kit doesn't sound like a bad thing. It bumps the UK-spec 2.0-liter, 157-horsepower engine up to 203 hp thanks to a sports exhaust and a revamped ECU (46 horsepower from an ECU and exhaust in a naturally aspirated car?). To make the little Miata even more agile, Jota has also fiddled with the suspension. AE doesn't mention things like the grippy tires or Recaro seats that were found on the concept, though.

2014 Mazda6: Winter's End Update

The Winter Without End is seemingly dead. Outside my office windows, my brown and yellow lawn is fully exposed to the increasingly powerful sunshine, the morning birdsong is louder than anything until the garbage trucks start rolling, and I'm seriously considering having the summer tires put back on my personal fleet. That last one is a little scary, as I'm a firm believer in the April Snow Jinx, but you get the idea.
The long-term Mazda6 has also long since left my driveway. Looking back on my notes from the time it was in my charge, however, I see all remarks are dominated by one highlighted section at the top: "worst winter drive of all time." I hardly need the reminder, to be honest. Here's what happened.
When the Mazda showed up at my door, we'd already fitted the thing with its new winter rubber: Bridgestone Blizzaks. Plunking down for dedicated snow tires was a near necessity this year - as it almost always is in Michigan. We didn't see much reprieve from snow-choked, iced over roads here in Ann Arbor, and the knobbier rubber proved invaluable in getting me out of my house time and again.