Honda-Acura.net - View Single Post - 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata production model info

Jun 28, 2005 | 03:05 PM

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MrFatbooty

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Mazda North American Operations is expecting to sell 10,000 units of its all-new MX-5 (Miata) annually, a number hampered by available capacity.

“Worldwide production is going to be about 40,000 units in the total scheme of things, year-to-year, full-on production,” Robert Davis, MNAO senior vice president of development, research and quality, tells Ward’s here at the vehicle’s preview.

“We’re probably looking at 10,000 units in the U.S. The big holdback this year will be the availability, just like Mazda3. We expect to basically not have any availability for more than a year based on what the dealers are telling us and what the existing Mazda owner base is telling us.”

It is a persistent problem for the auto maker these days. Davis says Mazda is “on a sold-out condition on a lot of our vehicle lines. You just sit there and throw your hands up in the air.”

He says at least 20,000 additional Mazda3s easily could be sold in the U.S. this year “if we could build them.” Mazda has sold 43,808 of the compact cars in the U.S. through May, a 33.2% increase from year-ago.

“I’d love to have another plant…at this point anywhere,” including North America, Davis says, but adds there is no serious talk of adding a manufacturing facility.

The ’06 MX-5 will face off against the new Pontiac Solstice 2-seater from General Motors Corp., and later, against Solstice’s twin, the Saturn Sky roadster.

As to claims by GM that it will sell 20,000 units of Solstice annually, Davis says, “Talk is cheap. When they talk 700,000 (the number of MX-5s sold worldwide to date),” GM will have numbers to flaunt.

Davis downplays the early hype for the Solstice. “I think the buzz is only building in Detroit. You don’t hear the buzz really anywhere else,” he says, adding the vehicle still is a few months from hitting the market.

However, he diplomatically says Mazda “welcomes Solstice.”

Gary Roudebush, group manager-passenger car platforms, agrees, telling Ward’s the Solstice will generate more interest, as well as competition, in the roadster segment.

Meanwhile, Roudebush says he expects the MX-5’s Grand Touring trim, which begins at $24,435, to make up the majority (60%-70%) of early sales. The entry-level Club Spec trim should comprise just 5% of the overall tally, with the other four trim levels: MX-5, Touring, Sport and 3rd Generation Limited, to account for 5%-10% of sales each.

Average buyer age should dip slightly, to 50 years of age from 55, with the current generation MX-5, he says.

At launch, Roudebush expects 60% male buyers, most of them married.

Advertising is set to launch in September, but most U.S. dealers should have the MX-5 by August, says Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO.

Davis says there will be a heavy focus on prior customers at launch, as Mazda must make “sure we take care of the customers that brought us to the party.”

To that end, Mazda plans to host about 30 MX-5 enthusiasts here in Hawaii, giving them a chance to test-drive the third-generation model.

“We’ve never done it before,” says a spokesman, adding he would be surprised if any other manufacturer had a large enough club following to do so.

Five of the enthusiasts are from the U.S., representing each of the five regions that comprise Mazda’s U.S. Advisory Council. Ten enthusiasts will come from Japan, as well as one from Canada.

http://wardsauto.com/ar/auto_capacit...azda/index.htm

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