Mazda, Mitsubishi, Honda See Fiscal-2015 Sales Rise

TOKYO – Mazda and Mitsubishi report record earnings in fiscal 2014, Honda profits slip despite record sales and all three Japanese automakers predict higher sales in the current fiscal year.

Mazda says earnings in the fiscal year ending March 31 reached a best-ever ¥202.9 billion ($1.7 billion) on sales of ¥3.0 trillion ($25.4 billion). Deliveries rose 5.0% to a 23-year high of 1.4 million units.

Sales this year are forecast to reach 1.49 million units, the largest market being North America with 449,000, up 5.6% from prior-year’s 425,000. The U.S. is expected to account for 320,000 deliveries, or 71% of the regional total.

Elsewhere, Mazda is projecting sales of 240,000 vehicles in Europe, up 5.0% from fiscal 2014; 220,000 in China, up 3.0%; 115,000 in Australia, up 14.0%; and 91,000 in Southeast Asia, up 20.0%. In Japan, the auto maker is forecasting 7.0% growth to 240,000 units.

Mazda’s Skyactiv lineup, now comprising five models featuring a range of powertrain and other technologies to improve fuel economy, accounted for 74% of unit sales in fiscal 2014. The automaker aims to raise that share to 85% this year.

Mazda plans to boost production at its Salamanca plant in Mexico to 230,000 units in fiscal 2015, mostly Mazda2s and Mazda3s, up from 140,000 in the prior year. This year’s total will include cars built for Toyota. Mazda also will build a 2-seat sports car in Hiroshima, Japan, for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

In fiscal 2015, the automaker plans to invest ¥105.0 billion ($876 million) in facilities and ¥125.0 billion ($1.0 billion) in R&D.

Mitsubishi Forecasts Earnings Slide on Marginal Sales Growth

Mitsubishi reports record earnings of ¥135.9 billion ($1.1 billion), up 10.1% from fiscal 2013, on sales of ¥2.2 trillion ($18.2 billion), up 4.2%. Unit sales grew 4.1% to 1.09 million.

In fiscal 2015, the automaker is forecasting a 4.6% decline in earnings to ¥125.0 billion ($1.0 billion) despite 8.0% higher sales of ¥2.3 trillion ($19.0 billion).

Sales are projected to grow marginally to 1.1 million, including 378,000 in Asia (242,000 in Southeast Asia); 191,000 in Europe; 128,000 in North America; 107,000 in Japan; 82,000 in Australia and New Zealand; and 296,000 in other markets.

The automaker launched a refreshed Triton pickup in Thailand in November. In January it brought online a new assembly plant in the Philippines with capacity to build 50,000 units annually. Future plans call for doubling capacity to 100,000.

Elsewhere in the region, the automaker has started construction of a new plant in Indonesia. Scheduled to come onstream in April 2017, capacity at the ¥72 billion ($600 million) facility located outside Jakarta will be 160,000 units.

Mitsubishi plans to produce a new MPV at its existing Indonesia plant.

In fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016, Mitsubishi plans to invest a total of ¥205.0 billion ($1.7 billion) in facilities and ¥166.5 billion ($1.4 billion) in R&D.

Honda reports fiscal-2014 earnings of ¥651.6 billion ($5.4 billion) on ¥12.6 trillion ($105.2 billion) in global sales. Earnings fell 13.1% and still are below the automaker’s fiscal-2007 peak, even though sales grew 6.8% to a record 4.36 million units.

By market, Honda sold 1.75 million vehicles in North America, down 0.6%; 1.43 million in Asia excluding Japan, up 10.8%; 761,000 in Japan, down 7.0%; 167,000 in Europe, unchanged; and 265,000 in other regions, down 9.6%.

For fiscal 2015, Honda forecasts sales rising 8.0% to 4.72 million.

The automaker is budgeting ¥670.0 billion ($5.6 billion) for capital expenditures in fiscal 2015 and ¥720.0 billion ($6.0 billion) for R&D.

Toyota, Suzuki, Isuzu and Nissan will issue fiscal-2014 results by May 13. Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries, Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu and Japan’s truck makers have not indicated when they will report.