Alessandro

So 60100 RX8 where built in 2003, 14627 where sold in Japan and 42428 elsewhere, left are 3045 unsold ones.
Im surprised that Japanese sales are so low in comparision with
total sales 24.3% of total manufactured or 25.6% of total sales.
I wonder how 04 will be, will Mazda break the 100.000 mark of
RX8 built in 04?

portero23

Where did you find these numbers? Could you give us a source?

-P23

Alessandro

www.mazda.com under "production and sales".

DMRH

You may find that Japanese sales have been deliberatly limited as Mazda's limited production rate has priority for the US & EU markets........

Jeff_pap31s

They may break the 100,000 mark in 04 considering sales where pretty good in 03

RotaryX

Here's a good link.


http://media.ford.com/mazda/article_...ticle_id=17163

gettingan8

Only 12346 in US sales..................

zoom44

so 10,000 for europe, 10,000 for the uk, 10,000 for australia and 700 for canada. roughly. i wonder if they count the direct imports to places like singapore in the JDM figure?

RCCAZ 1

Maybe only 12,346 U.S. sales, but keep in mind that this is only for July through December. The business case for RX-8 production was based off of annual U.S. sales of 30,000 units, so 2004 will do a good job of telling the tale.

The January 2004 edition of aei Magazine features a story on recent changes made to Mazda's rotary engine plant in Hiroshima, Japan. These changes have been made to accommodate "60,000 units" annually the magazine says. It also goes on to say that in the 12-year production run of the Gen 3, only 68,531 total units were produced. So, as you can see, Mazda is really working hard to automate the production process and crank up the number of RX-8s produced. If they are fortunate enough to sell 100K units next year there will be quite a few eager owners on waiting lists, not to mention what a great business case this would make for the Gen 4 RX-7. It's a problem that I'm sure Mazda would love to have. We SHALL see!!:D

s13lover

The jdm auto market is doing extremely bad right now. Japanesse manufacturers are now shifting their focus to export more cars than they sell in country in order to gain more profit. So, thoughs figures look alright to me.

Nubo

I don't get it. I was told my vehicle has a 1/21/04 build date, but last 5 digits of VIN# are in the 31,000 range. It is awaiting shipment. I am in USA.

Are there different VIN designations for different markets? I was assuming they were all the same.

Japan8

The JDM auto market is not particularly bad. One change being seen is that people are now buying more used cars than before. In general the Japanese do not like anything used... new is best. The auto market can never go truly bad here... the system is devised in such a way that you have to buy a car every 10 years, and at about 5 years it makes economic sense to do so. We are talking about yearly car tax based on weight and engine displacement... a normal 2L engine car is $390. And then there is the vehicle inspection... good for 3 years on a brand new car and after that has to be done every 2 years. Going to the Motorvehicle Registration place to do it will cost something like $1,000 (this includes mandatory insurance, taxes, and inspection). Traditionally the dealer will charge much more, plus tell you that you need this long list of stuff replaced leading to a bill of $2,000 - $3,000. Recently gas stations and other service stations have becomee allowed to perform this and so prices are falling... but it is still quite costly and only becomes moreso as the car ages... the things that much be checked become more numerous.

As far as the number of RX-8's sold in Japan goes... it's a Japanese thing. Like the Mustang and Probe story... Ford was going to replace the fox platform Mustand with the Probe, but fans all cried bloody murder over a front wheel drive turbo I-4. The Japanese think of the Gen 3 model when they think RX-7... harsh sportiness, incredibly quick and most importantly turbos. A guy a work had the opporunity to buy an RX-8 in August, but he traded his old gen3 RX-7 for a new leftover because the RX-8 didn't have turbos. For those who know bikes that is what is happening with the MotroGP racer Honda RC211V. Sure it sounds great and is fast as hell, but Honda fans say it's not a real Honda because it's not an I-4. So if Honda was to drop that into a 1000RR, sales would likely suck in Japan. Thus Honda concentrates on I-4 engines even though they have rpeatedly proven to be able to make an amazing V-twin, V-4 and V-5.

RCCAZ 1

Nubo,

I'm not sure about the RX-8, but I know that the Gen 3 RX-7 had a different letter designation in the VIN for different markets (i.e., US versus Canada). I'm not sure if each VIN sequence had its one sequential numbering scheme or not, but that would explain you're abnormally low VIN number versus total produced worldwide. I would guess that the number you're seeing on your car is a total US production number to date, however I'm not certain so don't take that as FACT.

Alessandro

Japan8, so theres still un-used RX7 in stock in Japan?

Japan8

No no... that is all American's mistake... there is no stock in Japan. Keeping a stock of cars at the dealer requires land and land is hard to get in cities like Tokyo and very expensive. Additionally all the dealers are owned by the manufacturer. So when you purchase a new car in Japan, they are ALL made to order. You usually have to wait 2 weeks to a month for the car to arrive.

So if you take that into account and think about the fact that only 14,000 or so mere sold in Japan... means that the RX-8 isn't doing so well in Japan... likely for the reasons I gave. The Atenza (M 6) is doing very well, and I suspect the Axcela (M 3) will do pretty good (but the US has been the main market of the Protege). I think things will look better in 2006 when the RX-7 comes out... if it has turbos... which it may not because of fuel economy and environmental reasons. Getting that certification seems to be becoming important in Japan, and a must for the US... the guy at the dealer said that the age of the turbo (for your average 4 stroke car) is over because of that. I dunno how much salt to take that with though...

Alessandro

Japan8, you said "new leftover RX7" that your friend bought in August, was it some customer that couldn´t afford it?

Japan8

Oh sorry... they ended production in July or August... which the time my former co-worker bought his. I am assuming that it was Mazda clearing out the last of the parts. It could have been a dealer car, but I doubt a canceled order... you don't do that in Japan. The loan, etc. would have been setup from before the order went to the factory.

I didn't really ask him the details of it as I didn't think too deeply about it at the time. Pretty much what he said was that the RX-7 wasn't being made anymore, but he managed to get one of the last ones produced. I'm having some recollection of hearing that the previous year was the last model year. Things like that are weird in Japan... for example motorcycles... my friend has a '98 CBR400RR, but it is a '93. It's the '93 model and was first registered in '98 (meaning someone bought it). I doubt it sat on the dealer floor from '93 to '98... new bikes are ordered from the factory too and the shops don't have much floorspace in general. So... the RX-7 was probably a 2002 model that was produced and sold in 2003. Sounds weird, but I don't always try to reason out some parts of Japanese logic...