Industry insiders believe that Mazda's slow product iteration in the Chinese market, shrinking product lines, selective distribution reductions, and internal consumption of the two major channels have all affected its development in China.

　　"Now the price of the 2021 2.0L luxury version is 171,800 yuan after the discount, and the 2021 2.5L sports version is 180,800 yuan after the discount. These two models are cost-effective and are more recommended." FAW Mazda dealers told reporters.

　　"FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda will merge recently. After the merger, they will be renamed "Mazda." However, the purchase of FAW Mazda's models and after-sales services will not be affected." FAW Mazda dealers said.

　　Later, the Blue Whale Auto reporter visited the Mazda dealership flagship store, which has all the models of FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda. The sales staff of the store told reporters: "At the end of August, FAW Mazda dealers will have a meeting with Changan Mazda dealers. Integration. After the integration, Atez will not stop production, but will re-price."

　　“In fact, Changan Mazda’s preferential margin will be less for a long time. FAW Mazda is now a good time to buy the bottom. After the repricing, the price will be higher than it is now.” At the same time, the salesperson said that the 2021 2.0L luxury version is now The discounted price is about 160,000 yuan.

　　After several visits, FAW Mazda dealers have confirmed the news of channel integration with Changan Mazda.

　　The merger news was sent out three times, and the channel integration was finally confirmed

　　In fact, the merger of FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda has become a commonplace.

　　As early as 2019, it was reported that FAW Mazda will withdraw from the market after the end of its current production cycle. After the replacement of its two products, Atez and CX-4, they will be imported into Changan Mazda for production and sales. At that time, FAW Mazda officials quickly denied it.

　　At the end of 2020, screenshots of the adjustments of FAW's Mazda business unit flowed out. The screenshot reveals that FAW Mazda Division will be disbanded in June 2021. The former FAW Mazda sales company employees will be transferred to Pentium or Red Flag Division; Atez will permanently stop production, and the inventory is now cleared; CX-4 is expected to be scheduled for production. In May, the existing parts were digested and production was discontinued; the original FAW Mazda dealers continued to sell CX-4 and provide after-sales service to car owners. The transition period is 2 years, and the current Changan Mazda model will be merged and sold from 2023; the FAW Group has completely independent intellectual property rights for the CX-4. After the production is discontinued, it will adopt the powertrain and logo of the Pentium model and merge it into the FAW Pentium network for sales.

　　In the screenshot, personnel, channels, and models are arranged clearly, and the industry believes that the credibility is extremely high. But FAW Mazda denied the news again.

　　The news of the merger did not stop abruptly. In June of this year, an official disclosure of the capital increase project of Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. once again confirmed the news of the merger of North and South Mazda.

　　On June 16, the official website of the Beijing Equity Exchange published a piece of information about the capital increase of Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. According to the announcement, Changan Mazda Automobile intends to add one more investor. The new investor shall hold no more than 5% (inclusive) of shares, and the total shareholding ratio of the original shareholders shall not be less than 95% (inclusive); the newly-increased registered capital is US$5.8404 million. . The part of the raised funds exceeding the newly-added registered capital shall be included in the capital reserve and shared by the new and old shareholders according to the shareholding ratio; the purpose of the raised funds is to "improve the quality of operation, improve and optimize the industrial layout, and enhance the competitiveness of the enterprise".

　　According to the capital increase information of Changan Mazda, the industry believes that FAW Group will delist 5% of Changan Mazda's shares, and Changan Mazda's original shareholders Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. and Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. will be diluted in equal proportions to form Changan Mazda 47.5% and Mazda 47.5%. , The new pattern of 5% tripartite shareholding of FAW Group.

　　Unlike the previous two times, FAW Mazda did not clarify the news. Moreover, the dealers have confirmed the news of the merger. In some cities, Changan Mazda 4S stores have already placed FAW Mazda models.

　　FAW Mazda dealers in Beijing also made it clear that “the merger with Changan Mazda dealers will be completed in September, FAW Mazda’s vehicle production line will be suspended, the production of parts and components will not be suspended, and its models will also be adjusted.”

　　The North and South Mazda sales terminals are about to be integrated, but currently neither FAW Mazda nor Changan Mazda has announced a merger plan. The industry believes that this merger may be highly coincident with the screenshots sent out at the end of 2020.

　　Mazda's sales in China are sluggish, can the merger usher in a turnaround?

　　The July sales data released by Mazda China shows that Mazda’s overall sales in July were 13,492 units, a decrease of 20.56% from June and a year-on-year decline of 23.99%. Mazda’s cumulative sales in China from January to July were 110,362 units. Among them, FAW Mazda sold 3,467 units in July, and Changan Mazda sold 10,025 units in July. From January to July, FAW Mazda’s cumulative sales were 36,466 units, and Changan’s Mazda’s cumulative sales were 73,896, accounting for approximately 67% of Mazda’s total sales in China.

　　Not only that, FAW Mazda's sales have been declining for 4 consecutive years. In 2017, FAW Mazda sold 126,000 vehicles; in 2018, it fell 12.3% year-on-year to 108,000 vehicles; in 2019, sales fell to 91,400 vehicles; in 2020, only 77,900 new vehicles were sold.

　　From the data point of view, FAW Mazda's sales have been cut in half, dragging Mazda's back legs. The root cause is FAW Mazda’s shareholding ratio and qualification issues. Public information shows that FAW Mazda was established in 2005 and was jointly established by FAW Group, FAW Car and Japan Mazda. The three parties hold 4%, 56% and 40% respectively. Because of the different share ratio, Mazda's decision-making power in FAW Mazda is weak. Moreover, FAW Mazda does not have the qualifications for vehicle production, and its models are all manufactured by FAW Sedan. In other words, FAW Mazda's business scope only includes sales and after-sales, without R&D and production.

　　And Changan Mazda is owned 50% by Mazda and Changan Automobile. Changan Mazda also has production qualifications and can integrate production and sales. Mazda also prefers Changan Mazda and introduces more models to Changan Mazda.

　　Although Changan Mazda has many products and high sales, it cannot reverse the decline of Mazda in China. In 2019, Mazda China's annual cumulative sales in China was only 227,800 vehicles, a 16.4% year-on-year decline. In 2020, the cumulative sales of Mazda's terminals in China were 214,600 units, a year-on-year decrease of 5.79%.

　　As early as 2018, Mazda said it would transform to a second-tier luxury brand. In June 2020, Mazda announced that it will not launch important new cars before March 2022, nor will it make major changes or upgrades to existing models. The reason is that Mazda will mobilize limited R&D resources to focus on the development of a new large-scale car. The architecture and its supporting new power system are expected to be unveiled around March 2023. In other words, before 2023, Mazda will have no new cars in China.

　　According to Mazda's financial report for the 2021 fiscal year (that is, from April 2020 to March 2021), Mazda's 2021 fiscal year's net sales were 2.88 trillion yen, a decrease of 16% from the 2020 fiscal year; operating profit was 88.2 Billion yen, a year-on-year decrease of 79.8%; net profit loss was 31.65 billion yen (1.86 billion yen), down 43.78 billion yen (2.578 billion yen) from 12.13 billion yen in fiscal year 2020. Global car sales also A decrease of 9.3%.

　　However, Mazda achieved a 7.8% year-on-year sales growth in the Chinese market. China is Mazda's fastest-growing market in fiscal 2021, but it is far different from Mazda's performance at its peak in China. Industry insiders believe that Mazda's slow product iteration in the Chinese market, shrinking product lines, selective distribution reductions, and internal consumption of the two major channels have all affected its development in China.

　　After the merger, can Mazda achieve a counterattack?

　　Bai Yiyang, manager of the research department of CMB International, told reporters: "The merger of North and South Mazda will have some short-term help. The main thing is to integrate resources and subtract, to form a joint force in marketing and sales. They are all short-term positive effects. But the durable goods of automobiles are still a combination of research, production and sales. Mazda's research and development in China was only established in 19 years. In the past few years, model launches have been very slow, and heavyweight new cars have been launched in 22 years. External environment, Just in time for the auto down cycle, independent manufacturers have seen significant changes in market segment products and marketing methods. Therefore, Mazda’s performance in the past three years has been flat. Therefore, although the integration has positive benefits in the short term, it still needs to improve in the long term. Strengthen localization and product matrix."