Mazda joins other automakers to withhold profit guidance
Mazda has announced it won't issue a profit forecast for the next financial year given volatility in the United States (US), despite reporting an increase in sales, revenue and profit over the past 12 months.
The Japanese automaker joins a growing number of automakers including Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Volvo, Volkswagen and Stellantis in withdrawing or delaying financial guidance for the year ahead.
While announcing results including a five per cent increase in global sales and four per cent profit growth in the 2024 Japanese financial year – which runs from April 1 to March 31 – the company said the next 12 months are too volatile to predict.
'Mazda has not yet determined its outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2026,' a statement from the automaker said.
'The company is closely monitoring the US business environment – including tariff policy developments, and market demand – and will provide an update with its first-quarter financial results.'
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.
The automaker is optimistic about the coming 12 months, with the Mazda 6e – a Chinese-made electric successor to the 6 sedan and wagon which could make it to Australia – launching soon in the United Kingdom and Europe and already on sale in China as the EZ-6.
A new-generation of the CX-5 SUV, Mazda's best-selling vehicle in Australia and its biggest volume market, the US, is set to be unveiled in 2025 with a hybrid version to rival the hot-selling Toyota RAV4.
While sales fell 23.4 per cent in China over the last Japanese financial year, Mazda posted a record result in North America with a 20 per cent increase to 617,00 vehicles, led by the CX-5.
A total of 435,000 Mazdas were sold in the US – a 16 per cent year-on-year rise – making up one-third of the brand's global sales. Yet the success makes Mazda more vulnerable to the tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump designed to encourage manufacturing in the US.
Mazda has a single US plant in Huntsville, Alabama, a partnership with Toyota where it manufactures the CX-50 which isn't sold in Australia.
A blanket 25 per cent automotive tariff came into effect on April 3, 2025 and applied to all vehicle imports into the US.
The ability to measure the impact was further complicated by Mr Trump's country-specific 'reciprocal tariffs' which saw Japan's 4.5 per cent rate increased to 24 per cent.
This was to be applied on to goods imported from Japan to the US – including motor vehicles – in addition to the 25 per cent automotive tariff.
Mazda manufactures most of its vehicles in Japan with almost 60 per cent of its production made domestically last month, but it also has factories in China, Mexico and Thailand.
Repeated changes of tariffs into the US – reduced in many cases – may appear positive but have only added pressure on supply chains and car companies with the constant uncertainty.
The volatility saw Ford report a 65 per cent first-quarter fall in income, as the US car giant and rival Stellantis issued staff pricing for all customers to stave off fears of new-car price rises.
General Motors (GM) paused its April 29, 2025 financial guidance – having pulled its previous January forecast – after the Trump administration announced the same day it would soften the automotive tariffs.
The automaker held back to seek clarity on the changes before announcing on May 1 the tariffs – as they stood at the time – would cost the company between $US4-5 billion (A$6.8-7.2 billion) over the next 12 months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
What Trump's "revenge tax" means for Australian investors
NAB's director of SMSF and investor behaviour, Gemma Dale says Donald Trump may be using the 'revenge tax' on foreign investment in the US, which is part of his 'Big, Beautiful Bill', as a negotiating tactic during trade talks while tariffs are on pause.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
‘Hopeium' of rate cuts and trade talks drives ASX 200 higher
Refreshed from the King's Birthday long weekend, the ASX 200 has surged to a new record close on Tuesday thanks to trade talks and renewed hope for a rate cut in July. The benchmark ASX 200 index surged 71.50 points or 0.84 per cent to 8,587.20, surpassing its previous record close of 8,555.8 set back on February 14. The broader All Ordinaries also jumped 70.80 points or 0.81 per cent to 8,812.70. The Australian dollar slid marginally during trading, but is still buying more than 65 US cents. On an overall strong day of trading 10 of the 11 sectors finished in the green led by the big banks, consumer discretionary and technology stocks. Zip was the best performing stock on the ASX 200 as it surged more than 6 per cent to $2.32, while Tabcorp shares jumped 5.71 per cent to $0.74 and Pilbara Minerals also jumped 5.46 per cent to $1.35. CBA continued to retest its own record highs, jumping a further 1.17 per cent to $182 with Australia's biggest bank now having a market capitalisation of $304.10bn. NAB shares jumped 1.53 per cent to $39.17, Westpac climbed 0.96 per cent to $33.50 and ANZ gained 1.12 per cent to $29.83. IG Market analyst Tony Sycamore said the banks were continuing their run up from the April lows on the back of falling rates spurring on the housing and credit markets. 'If rates fall back to 3.1 per cent, which is close to where we think neutral is for the RBA, that improves affordability which adds more demand for credit for the big banks,' he said. 'What happens to their margins? I don't think there's much of a difference between 3.85 or 3.1 per cent, there's still enough fat on the bone to make their generous profits.' The tech sector closed 1.6 per cent higher with shares in NextDC soaring 5.16 per cent to $13.86, while WiseTech Global jumped 2.36 per cent to $108.01 and Xero climbed 1.82 per cent to $192.10. On a heavy macro economic day, there were a number of factors driving the local bourse. In China deflation deepened to its worst level in almost two years in May, while US job figures came in hotter than expected although this was only due to the participation rate plummeting. There were also renewed hopes of a trade talk between the US and China, although US President Donald Trump said the discussions so far had been positive but 'not easy', while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it a good meeting. Domestically, Australia's latest Westpac consumer sentiment index was released, showing Australians are feeling 'cautiously pessimistic.' Mr Sycamore said a combination of stronger than expected international news and renewed hopes of a rate cut domestically helped spur on the local market. 'When you put the weak China number together with weak consumer confidence in Australia and dig below the surface in the US job numbers, it is probably arguing for more rate cuts from central banks, which is probably the hopeium that drives these stock markets,' he said. 'Along with hopes of trade deals, that is why we are still near a record high.' In company news, shares in Monash IVF Group slumped 26.85 per cent to $0.545 after the fertility giant announced an embryo mix-up at its Melbourne laboratory, meaning the wrong embryo was implanted into a patient.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Google's robotaxis targeted in LA riots, services cancelled
Waymo was called on to suspend its robotaxi service – at least partially – after its vehicles were deliberately targeted in the Los Angeles riots over the weekend. Several driverless Jaguar I-Pace electric robotaxis from Waymo – worth around US$100,000 (A$153,000) – ended up being graffitied and set on fire during clashes between authorities and protesters in the Californian capital. It's alleged that users of Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, deliberately ordered vehicles from the transport service with the sole intention of damaging them as part of protests in the US city. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The company could not confirm if this was the case, as reported by the New York Times, which published a statement from Waymo saying its vehicles were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Images posted to various social media platforms from the weekend showed protesters standing on top of a Waymo I-Pace waving a Mexican flag, with the vehicle covered in graffiti and several others nearby billowing smoke and flames. After being asked to shut down the app to prevent further attacks, the company said on Monday it was limiting services based on the protests. "We're aware of potential protests and will not be providing service in the areas protesters may be gathering out of an abundance of caution," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. Services were first suspended on Sunday evening, according to the NYT as the company worked with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to limit damage to vehicles. The company said in May it was providing more than 250,000 driverless rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin. Texas is the state in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk – who previously played a prominent role in US President Donald Trump's administration – said the US automaker would introduce its first robotaxi service later this month. Content originally sourced from: Waymo was called on to suspend its robotaxi service – at least partially – after its vehicles were deliberately targeted in the Los Angeles riots over the weekend. Several driverless Jaguar I-Pace electric robotaxis from Waymo – worth around US$100,000 (A$153,000) – ended up being graffitied and set on fire during clashes between authorities and protesters in the Californian capital. It's alleged that users of Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, deliberately ordered vehicles from the transport service with the sole intention of damaging them as part of protests in the US city. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The company could not confirm if this was the case, as reported by the New York Times, which published a statement from Waymo saying its vehicles were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Images posted to various social media platforms from the weekend showed protesters standing on top of a Waymo I-Pace waving a Mexican flag, with the vehicle covered in graffiti and several others nearby billowing smoke and flames. After being asked to shut down the app to prevent further attacks, the company said on Monday it was limiting services based on the protests. "We're aware of potential protests and will not be providing service in the areas protesters may be gathering out of an abundance of caution," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. Services were first suspended on Sunday evening, according to the NYT as the company worked with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to limit damage to vehicles. The company said in May it was providing more than 250,000 driverless rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin. Texas is the state in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk – who previously played a prominent role in US President Donald Trump's administration – said the US automaker would introduce its first robotaxi service later this month. Content originally sourced from: Waymo was called on to suspend its robotaxi service – at least partially – after its vehicles were deliberately targeted in the Los Angeles riots over the weekend. Several driverless Jaguar I-Pace electric robotaxis from Waymo – worth around US$100,000 (A$153,000) – ended up being graffitied and set on fire during clashes between authorities and protesters in the Californian capital. It's alleged that users of Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, deliberately ordered vehicles from the transport service with the sole intention of damaging them as part of protests in the US city. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The company could not confirm if this was the case, as reported by the New York Times, which published a statement from Waymo saying its vehicles were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Images posted to various social media platforms from the weekend showed protesters standing on top of a Waymo I-Pace waving a Mexican flag, with the vehicle covered in graffiti and several others nearby billowing smoke and flames. After being asked to shut down the app to prevent further attacks, the company said on Monday it was limiting services based on the protests. "We're aware of potential protests and will not be providing service in the areas protesters may be gathering out of an abundance of caution," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. Services were first suspended on Sunday evening, according to the NYT as the company worked with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to limit damage to vehicles. The company said in May it was providing more than 250,000 driverless rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin. Texas is the state in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk – who previously played a prominent role in US President Donald Trump's administration – said the US automaker would introduce its first robotaxi service later this month. Content originally sourced from: Waymo was called on to suspend its robotaxi service – at least partially – after its vehicles were deliberately targeted in the Los Angeles riots over the weekend. Several driverless Jaguar I-Pace electric robotaxis from Waymo – worth around US$100,000 (A$153,000) – ended up being graffitied and set on fire during clashes between authorities and protesters in the Californian capital. It's alleged that users of Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, deliberately ordered vehicles from the transport service with the sole intention of damaging them as part of protests in the US city. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The company could not confirm if this was the case, as reported by the New York Times, which published a statement from Waymo saying its vehicles were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Images posted to various social media platforms from the weekend showed protesters standing on top of a Waymo I-Pace waving a Mexican flag, with the vehicle covered in graffiti and several others nearby billowing smoke and flames. After being asked to shut down the app to prevent further attacks, the company said on Monday it was limiting services based on the protests. "We're aware of potential protests and will not be providing service in the areas protesters may be gathering out of an abundance of caution," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. Services were first suspended on Sunday evening, according to the NYT as the company worked with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to limit damage to vehicles. The company said in May it was providing more than 250,000 driverless rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin. Texas is the state in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk – who previously played a prominent role in US President Donald Trump's administration – said the US automaker would introduce its first robotaxi service later this month. Content originally sourced from:
