Buoyed by strong demand for its new large SUVs in North America, Europe and China (yes), Mazda recorded its best-ever performance for the fiscal year between April 2023 and March 2024 (FY24), achieving year-on-year growth in sales, operating income and net income.

Mazda capped off total sales at 1.241 million units, a 13 percent increase from the previous fiscal year's 1.11 million units. As a result, operating profit surged 76 percent to JPY 250.5 billion (~RM 7.63 billion) from last year's JPY 142 billion (~RM 4.33 billion).

Net income stood at JPY 207.7 billion (~RM 6.33 billion), supported by higher profit margins from hybrid models and currency exchange tailwinds due to a weakening Yen versus the US dollar.

The North American market proved to be the biggest contributor to Mazda, recording total sales of 514,000 units across the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Also read: Malaysians can look forward to the Mazda CX-60, here's what you need to know

The US market alone achieved its highest-ever sales, with 375,000 units, representing a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, sales in Canada and Mexico also rose by 26 percent (61,000 units) and 37 percent (77,000 units), respectively. Much of Mazda’s success in North America can be attributed to its SUV lineup, notably the CX-90 and CX-70 SUV which are offered with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants.

Europe also saw significant growth, with 180,000 units sold, up 13 percent year-on-year, where models like the CX-60 and CX-30 contributed to sales volume growth.

Mazda even bucked the trend in China, where competitors like Honda have faced declining sales. Mazda, on the other hand, sold 97,000 units, marking a 15 percent increase year-on-year. In China, the newly launched CX-50, along with the Mazda3 and CX-5, contributed to the overall growth in sales volume.

Sales also increased in Australia and Malaysia. Australia saw sales of 289,000 units, up 8 percent, boosted by models such as the CX-60, CX-3, CX-30, and BT-50, while Malaysia, with 19,000 units sold, saw a sales increase of 20 percent; the only major market in the ASEAN region which saw a significant sales increase.

However, Mazda saw a small sales decline in its home market of Japan with 160,000 units sold, down 3 percent year-on-year, and in Thailand, which saw a substantial 42 percent drop year-on-year with sales of 15,000 units.

Also read: Debuting in China, this is the RWD Mazda EZ-6; available in BEV/PHEV forms, what are the chances of it coming here?

Looking ahead, Mazda targets a total sales volume of 1.4 million units in 2025 (FY25), up 13 percent from this year, anticipating an 8 percent increase in operating profit to JPY 270.0 billion (~RM 8.23 billion), while projecting a 28 percent decrease in net income to JPY 150 billion (~RM 4.57 billion) mainly due to the strengthening Yen, which will offset many of the foreign exchange gains in 2024.

To achieve its targets, Mazda will bank on an increase in sales volume, taking into account the deployment of its large SUV lineup across major markets. A new CX-50 hybrid variant is slated to join selected markets in H2 2024, while the CX-80 will be introduced in Japan and Europe, to further complete Mazda’s large SUV offerings.

The recently unveiled Mazda EZ-6, which will be available in China as either a BEV or PHEV later this year, is also expected to further boost demand.