Mazda Wants To Go To Siberia

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: January 22nd, 2011

We sometimes forget that Russia is very close to Japan. So close that you can see Russia (or Japan) with the naked eye. For many years, Japan’s used cars were literally sent to Siberia, where they did, right hand drive be damned, hard duty in a climate they were not built for. Mazda is thinking of reviving the far eastern ties between Russia and Japan.

Mazda had discussed the possibility of auto production in Russia’s Far East region with Gov. Sergei Darkin, The Nikkei [sub] reports. Mazda could construct a new plant or make use of an existing facility.

The Russian government has been showing interest in developing its Far East region with the help of Japan. It has been inviting Japanese automakers to set up plants in the region. Used cars are no longer welcome.

#BertelSchmitt #Japan #Mazda #Russia #Siberia

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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Blowfish on Jan 22, 2011

it makes biz sense to Ruskies, they have the land sitting there, what a golden opportunity if mazda will bite, should the biz do well , Ruskies can commandeer her with some Peace order & Good Govt reason. Create employment, make rubles, what else can it go wong?

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- Pete Zaitcev on Jan 22, 2011
  
  A spent stage from Vostochnyi can land on it :-)
  
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SCE to AUX on Jan 22, 2011

Mazda's gotta sell something somewhere, 'cause it ain't happening in the US.

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Philosophil on Jan 23, 2011

Though it's not a big market, Mazda does reasonably well in Canada (especially the Mazda3). Maybe they think that if their cars perform well in Canada, then...

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Beelzebubba on Jan 23, 2011
"Mazda’s gotta sell something somewhere, ’cause it ain’t happening in the US." Mazda's U.S. year-end sales total for 2010 was actually up 10.5% compared to 2009. They sold a total of 229,566 vehicles here in 2010! The problem is that they have one or two good sellers (within their respective class) but they have several other vehicles that don't sell well despite being very competitive! Here's how the 2010 sales break down- Mazda3: 106,353; Mazda6: 35,662; CX-7: 28,788; CX-9: 28,908; Mazda5: 15,683; Miata: 6,370; RX-8: 1,134; Tribute: 3,637 and Mazda2: 3,021. The Mazda3 saw a 10.2% increase over 2009 sales and it accounted for more than 46% of the 2010 corporate total. Mazda Canada sold 78,662 vehicles in 2010, which is an increase of 7.0% over 2009. The Mazda3 has been the the second best-selling car (on an annual basis) in Canada for the past two years! It was also the best-seller (on a monthly basis) at least three times in 2010. Mazda has some excellent products, but they don't have the dealership network (or the marketing resources) to make anything happen....so far...

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