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Tom Donnelly, CEO of Mazda’s North American operations, joins Yahoo Finance Live along with senior reporter Pras Subramanian to discuss Mazda’s functionality and the position of its hybrid cars in the automotive landscape.
Donnelly comments on Mazda’s strategy with the current consumer demand: “The term that I’ve used is, and others internally have used, is an intentional follower. We want to time the market right and ensure that we introduce products, technology, power trains that the market demands. We are clearly seeing a slowdown in BEV [battery electric vehicle] adoption, we are seeing an acceleration in hybrid demand, and that’s why we think the introduction of the two plug-ins that we have this year… We think we are timing the market right. As we play forward to the 2030 horizon, we think we are going to be well-positioned.”
For more information and the latest market actions, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Mazda (MZDAY) had one of its best years in almost 30 years as demand for hybrid vehicles begin to overshadow EVs. Some companies who have invested heavily in EVs have not seen the ROI as the demand for EV has slowed.
Tom Donnelly, CEO of Mazda’s North American operations, joins Yahoo Finance Live along with senior reporter Pras Subramanian to discuss Mazda’s functionality and the position of its hybrid cars in the automotive landscape.
Donnelly comments on Mazda’s strategy based on existing customer demand: “The term I’ve used, and others have used internally, is intentional follower. We need to synchronise the market well and make sure we introduce products, technologies and propulsion systems. that the market demands. Obviously we’re seeing a slowdown in the adoption of BEVs [battery electric vehicles], we’re seeing an acceleration in demand for hybrids, and that’s why we’re thinking about the arrival of the two plug-ins that we have this year. . . They are timing the market correctly. If we look ahead to 2030, we will be well positioned.
For more information and the latest market actions, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor’s note: This article is written by Nicholas Jacobin
SEANA SMITH: As auto giants warn of a new reality for EVs, companies that haven’t gone all in on electric vehicles are starting to reap some of those benefits. Mazda having its best year in nearly 30 years that’s thanks to demand for its hybrid vehicles. Here to tell us more, I want to bring in Tom Donnelly, he’s Mazda North American operations CEO, along with Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian.
Great to have both of you. All right, let’s talk about some of the dynamics that are going on right now within your industry, Tom, because it’s an extremely tough time for auto giants right now trying to navigate this shift or slower than expected shift to electric vehicles. How are you thinking about this and approaching the transition at Mazda?
TOM DONNELLY: There’s no question about it, it’s a dynamic market right now. But we’ve had a strategy that we call multiple solution. So it was a multi-solution approach, which means that in all of our projects, we’ve been surrounded by hybrids and plug-in hybrids and, in the end, electrification.
So last year we brought a plug-in hybrid, the CX-90, to the mid-range CUV segment. In a few months, we’ll also introduce a CX-70 plug-in hybrid. And later this year, we’re going to introduce a CX-50.
And we have a three-phase technique that will take us all the way to 2030. And by 2030, we will have a full range of electrified vehicles. Therefore, we believe that the speed and our overall strategy are suitable for the existing market.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Hello, Tom. This is Pras.
TOM DONNELLY: Hello. Hello.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Do you think so? Or I see it as Mazda being criticized in the future for not fully jumping into EVs. And many said that it was more about money, that there was a great need for money to invest and that Mazda was having good luck with its cars and betting more on hybrids. Is it more of a business scenario or is it more that we were handed over to this scenario because we weren’t investing as much in the electric vehicle transformation?
TOM DONNELLY: yes, Pras, wonderful question. Our strategy is the right one, as I said a minute ago. The term I’ve used and others have used internally is an intentional follower.
Therefore, we need to synchronize the market well and introduce the products, technologies and propulsion systems that the market demands. And obviously we’re seeing a slowdown in BEV adoption. We are seeing an acceleration in demand for hybrids. And that’s why we think that with the arrival of the two add-ons that we have this year, as well as the hybrid in the CX-50 later this year, we think we’re properly timing the market.
And then, until 2030, we think we’ll be well positioned. Again, then we will have a full diversity of electric vehicles. But we believe that our strategy is to have compatibility for the target in the current market and to have compatibility for the next ones. years.
BRAD SMITH: Then, Tom, from 2023, where you had record sales, I’m wondering what feedback you’re hearing from broker networks, particularly about existing pricing, what are consumers turning to?
TOM DONNELLY: yes, wonderful question. We just finished the National Automobile Dealers Convention, NADA. We have just spent the last few days with our broker partners and they are very excited about their business and prospects for this year.
Obviously there’s been a shift in the market in terms of, beyond electrification, a much greater sensitivity to affordability. But we think we’re ahead of the curve in terms of some of the steps we’ve taken. They are very positive about the product portfolio and the moves we have taken for visitors to delight in through our Retail Evolution showrooms. Therefore, we believe that the building blocks we have put in place over the past few years put us in a smart position for the years to come.
And we are very happy, as acknowledged, to come out of a very strong 2023 calendar year. We had our most productive December in terms of retail sales, our most productive January in terms of retail sales. And we have a couple of products that we’re going to introduce this year, so we’re very positive about our plans and our prospects for this year.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Hi, Tom, you know that the CX-70 was just announced and revealed to have expired last month. It’s a popular vehicle among the Mazda faithful, rarely is?But it’s also a very competitive landscape with this midsize crossover area, this market. We’ve just seen Ford talk about how they’ll exit this market in terms of electric cars in the future.
They say it’s too difficult. How do you feel about that? Do you think Mazda has the right kind of game plan to take on the fiercely competitive midsize crossover market?
TOM DONNELLY: yes, wonderful question, Pras. Yes, we feel like we’re in a smart place. And in the sense that, when you think about what buyers in this segment want, we think the product features and the Mazda logo set us up to be smart. fortune in this segment, in particular the importance of taste and driving dynamics.
In other words, the visitor profile of this segment is largely empty-nesters, quite wealthy. They have features and options. And we think that, again, the design, which has been a strong point of Mazda, is the driving dynamics. And what for us is unique about this vehicle is its significant capability and utility. That’s why we think it fits perfectly with what consumers in this segment want.
BRAD SMITH: Tom Donnelly who is the Mazda North American operations CEO and Yahoo reporter Pras Subramanian, thanks so much for joining us.