Culiacan, Sinaloa.- Miguel Barbeyto, CEO of Mazda in Mexicoshared in an interview with newspaper DEBATE the future plans for the brand, the growth it seeks to have and how Sinaloa is part of its commercial strategy.
– What is the reason for your visit to Culiacán?
For us, the operation of the Bours Group for Mazda is very important. They have Cabo, Mazatlán and Culiacán. Right now we are in Culiacán reviewing the operation of the business to see how it is going, we are doing well, and how we can support them so that we continue to grow as a brand in the state of Sinaloa. That’s basically the reason.
– What are the technological advances that the brand has had?
We already have internal combustion vehicles that are very friendly to the environment; In addition, we have products that are Mild Hybrid, which are a step before the hybrid, it is a smaller battery with gasoline as well and that makes the vehicle pollute less, we call it what we already have smart hybrid technologies and by mid-2025 we will have in our CX-70 and CX-90 pickup trucks plug-in hybrid technologythat this is hybrid, but also connecting to electricity, that will have a better benefit.
That’s in Mexico. In the world, Mazda is an inclusive company that offers multi-solution technologies, that is, we offer internal combustion, diesel gasoline, but we also offer mild hybrid, which is what I just mentioned, which is a smaller battery, but also gasoline, hybrid which is a larger battery but also gasoline, plug-in hybrid, which is hybrid but connecting to electricity and 100% electric, so we have a range of technologies depending on the country, depending on the ideas of each client, that is what Mazda offers the today.
-How has the market in Sinaloa received you?
Very good and we want more. That’s what I talked about right now with my colleagues from Mazda Culiacán and in the morning from Mazda Mazatlán. The truth is that since we arrived in the state a few years ago, things have gone very well for us and the brand
It has always been to people’s taste here. For example, in Culiacán, we have a 6.4% market share, which is very good, it is even above the market share that we have at the national level, which is 5.9, so the performance here in Culiacán is really very Well.
– Are there expansion plans for Sinaloa?
Yes, we want that 6.4 participation to grow to 7.2, 7.3, why? because the market gives it, because the brand gives it, because we are introducing new products, last year we introduced the Mazda CX-50, which is a new truck, we also launched the Mazda CX-90, which is a new truck; Right now we are launching the Mazda CX-70, which is actually here, and at the end of this year we are going to launch our first pickup, the Mazda BT-50, which for this region of the country, a pickup is always good, so there are plans very important expansion.
– From when do you expect this growth?
This takes time, but we do believe that in the next 18 months we can achieve it.
– When do you expect to reach 100,000 units?
With the closing of 2024, between now and December, that is, by January 2025, as soon as it can come again, I will tell you if we reach 100,000 units.
– What is the value of training and service at Mazda?
The most important thing for us at Mazda is people, internal customers and external customers. Internal customers are all the people we work at Mazda, that is, the people who are in corporate, the people who are in our Salamanca plant, the people who work in our distributors, those are our internal customers. They are very important and also the external clients who are the ones who buy a vehicle from us or do us the favor of bringing those vehicles for service. It is thanks to them that the brand is here. We owe it to them and we are working for them and that is the most important thing. Every effort we make, at the center, we put customers. Everything is thinking about the client.
– Do problems continue in the supply chain?
The truth is that right now I am very happy to tell you that we no longer have that problem. We had two topics: one, the shortage of certain spare parts or the famous semiconductors that were very fashionable two or three years ago.
chips, we no longer have an issue or we also had shortages of certain parts, because the supply chain was fractured. Right now we no longer have that problem 100%. There are still some sporadic issues, but it is no longer an issue that we no longer have a product available, and the other was the logistical issue, that there were not enough ships to attract vehicles from Japan, or there were no godmothers. , or trucks to move the units of our
plants to our distributors. Today we no longer have that problem fortunately. We are delivering the vehicles within the same month to our distributors, there is no longer any issue. There will be times, for example, if the client requests a specific version in a specific color in case it takes a while.
-How did you manage to solve that problem?
Well look, the truth is that my colleagues made very good negotiations with transporters. My colleagues sat down to negotiate to see how to make Mazda a priority and that was basically what helped us, optimizing, for example, and working hand in hand with our Salamanca plant, that is, we export to the United States, so it comes out of Salamanca in the trucks to Lázaro Cárdenas, because there it is exported to the western part of the United States, so they took vehicles to Lázaro Cárdenas and those same trucks, so that they would not return empty, were used for all the vehicles that came from Japan and moved to our distributors, then it was a
logistics optimization.
-How will they face Chinese competition?
I always tell them that I am not worried; I’m busy. I don’t just see brands of Chinese origin, but I see all brands, because all brands are equally important in a market that is growing. So
What we are working on and how we have to differentiate ourselves to be relevant is in three things. The first is that our brand is very strongTwo, our product, design and handling, are unique, we have to capitalize there. And three and most importantly, it is everything that has to do with after-sales. Everyone sells vehicles that we have more or less the same. We all have four wheels, leather seats, sunroof, premium sound, we all have more or less the same, but what we have and what we want to continue to be very strong in is after-sales. That there are appointments for the workshop the next day or the same day, that we have the spare parts when needed, that our technicians or mechanics repair the vehicles right the first time; So all that, it’s going to be that the brand is to people’s taste and then they say, why should I change if I’m fine with Mazda, I’m going to repurchase or I’m going to recommend.
-How did Mazda’s production impact in Mexico?
Last year, 202,000 units were produced, and if you compare that against 2022, it was an increase of almost 30% in production, I mean, that is quite a lot. This year what we want is to produce 210,000 units, that is, it is a more moderate growth, but in the end a growth, and it is being given to us by the production of the Mazda CX-30, which is our flagship pr
oduct. Of the 202,000 units produced in Salamanca, 66% were the Mazda CX-30 last year. It is a very important product for the North American region and from there, 55% is exported to the United States, our main
market.
– When is the new pickup expected to arrive?
Today there is the Mazda BT-50, it is a pickup that already exists in the Mazda world. We sell it in Australia, in New Zealand, in Chile, in the countries of central South America, but that version is going to have a radical change and we in Mexico are going to launch the new version of the Mazda BT-50 and it is going to be a very well equipped pick up for personal use, not for work, that is, we don’t want the volume. A single version that is well equipped for customers who have always wanted to enter the Mazda brand, but have not entered because we do not offer a pickup truck, then it will be a good time. The tentative date for its arrival in Mexico will be in January 2025.
– What differentiates Mexico from the rest of the world for Mazda?
The difference between Mexico and the more than 130 countries where Mazda has a presence is the people; The people are 100% committed, we have our shirt on very well, we work and we owe it to our clients, we work and we believe in that philosophy. There is a Japanese philosophy called Omotenashi, and Omotenashi is giving without expecting to receive anything in return, it is a culture. We are working on it and our bosses always put Mexico as a reference, that we are doing things better than in many other countries. That’s because we truly believe that customer service is beyond a
number, is to really satisfy and fascinate the customer
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