Greater Engine and Transmission Choice Didn't Change the Mazda 3's Cross-border Fortunes One Bit

If you’re a regular on these digital pages, you probably read how the revamped-for-2019 Mazda 3 is a very different beast depending on which side of the border one resides. The Canada-U.S. border, that is. Eager to keep cheapskates entry-level car lovers in a certain province satisfied, Mazda Canada saw fit to offer buyers greater choice than Americans enjoy down south, coupled with a very non-premium starting price.

Good stuff, in this writer’s books.

However, despite both countries having access to sedan and five-door variants, both offered with Mazda’s weather-conquering i-Activ all-wheel drive system, the Mazda 3’s Canadian sales trajectory doesn’t differ from that of its U.S. counterpart.

If you think the U.S. market is cooling fast, it’s nothing compared to Canada’s. This year will not be remembered for setting any records. And nor will Mazda, which, at the end of September, found itself down 12.5 percent over last year’s volume in the Great White North.

So close is the relationship between the two countries that you’ll find a nearly identical situation south of the border. Mazda’s U.S. sales ended last month down 11.5 percent, year to date. No Mazda model can boast of a YTD sales gain down there, and only one, the CX-5, can brag about rising sales in Canada. Even that victory, at 0.7 percent, is slimmer than Celine Dion (no offense intended).

Indeed, the last time a Mazda model posted a TYD gain in the U.S. was in January, when the 6 sedan recorded a slight year-over-year uptick in sales. This, of course, does not count as a true YTD volume gain; a month later, the lead was gone.

Sales data guru Tim Cain called out the fourth-generation Mazda 3 last week, placing the revamped model’s failure to launch in stark terms. While falling car sales are not unique to Mazda, the brand seems to be having a harder time luring buyers into showrooms than the likes of Honda and Toyota, despite the addition of all-wheel grip. And, if anyone harbored concerns that ditching the 3’s base engine and offering fewer stick shifts negatively impacted the 3, let Canadian data put your fears to rest.

North of the border, the 3, offered with an entry-level 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G four-cylinder as well as the standard 2.5-liter seen in the U.S., doesn’t relegate manual transmissions strictly to a single uplevel, sports-oriented model. Pricing starts quite low as a result — considerably lower than in the almost-always-cheaper U.S.

And yet last month — a period admittedly containing fewer selling days than 2018, plus a truncated Labor Day long weekend — saw 3 sales fall 26.4 percent, year over year. Through September, sales of the new 3 fell 18.8 percent.

In the States, September saw the 3 decline 24.3 percent, with its year-to-date tally now down some 21 percent. You can spice up a model or dress it down all you like, but the same forces seem to be at work regardless of where the 3 is sold.

If AWD cars can’t make headway against the great car decline, there’s only one thing left to do — and Mazda’s already on it. The CX-30 crossover appears late this year or early next, offering buyers a new utility choice slotted between the low-volume CX-3 subcompact and popular CX-5 compact. A year and change after that, Mazda’s joint Alabama plant comes online. From that Toyota-shared facility, expect a larger crossover built with North American preferences in mind.

The sound you hear is a gathering wind preparing to fill Mazda’s flaccid sails.

[Images: © 2019 Chris Tonn/TTAC, Mazda]