Mazda slips to fourth with big drops in BT-50 ute and CX-5 SUV sales, but believes it will be back on track before the end of 2022

We know Australian new vehicle registrations are down year-on-year so far in 2022, but the big news under that overarching headline is Mazda’s fall from its usual second spot on the sales leaderboard behind Toyota in May.

Last month, Mazda sold 6464 units, trailing third-place Hyundai (7063) and second-place Kia (7307), as well as the market-dominating Toyota (22,813).

While Kia put on a sales surge last month to continue to lead its corporate cousin, Hyundai, Mazda’s result was patchy, with significant models like the BT-50 down 35.7 per cent compared with the same month last year, and the recently updated CX-5 dropping 29.7 per cent in May's numbers.

Year-to-date growth across other models, particularly the CX-30 (up 33.8% in 2022) and Mazda2 (up 3.5%), wasn’t enough to offset the overall decline, with Mazda down 9.4 per cent (4534 units) after five months of trading, as the chasm between May 2021 and May 2022 highlights a 4080 unit deficit.

However, Mazda Australia still holds tightly onto the overall number two spot to the end of May, notching up a 43,687-unit tally so far in 2022, well ahead of Kia's 30,939 and Hyundai's 29,908 totals.

A Mazda spokesperson told CarsGuide the decline is due to “a combination of a few things, but largely availability of stock”.

A range of issues including limited production due to semi-conductor/microchip shortages or personnel availability, as well as variable shipping schedules have plagued the global automotive supply chain in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mazda says it’s working closely with its dealers to deliver customer orders as soon as possible, confirming it is “focused on meeting demand for top-selling models, with a view to further improving stock availability within this year.”

Mazda isn’t alone in trailing its 2021 sales performance, with big mainstream players like Ford, Nissan, Subaru, and Volkswagen down substantially on year-to-date results. 

But all eyes will be on the brand that seemingly had a mortgage on the second step of the Aussie new vehicle sales podium as it aims to fight back from the middle of the top 10 pack.