WHAT'S UP, MAZDA?

In the first part of a new series aimed at giving local automotive brands an opportunity to touch base with South African consumer, we open the floor for Craig Roberts, Managing Director of Mazda Southern Africa

- Ian McLaren

The fact that my chat with the managing director of Mazda Southern Africa kicks off with comparing notes on our respective first car purchases both Mazda 323s, is pertinent. For many South Africans, the Mazda brand's legacy is one of honest, reliable motoring and generally fond memories. While Roberts is naturally keen on this reputation holding strong, on a global scale, the brand's current trajectory has been one of increased luxury as well as a premium standing within each of the segments it competes.

"An important moment for the brand in terms of this new focus on increased perceived brand value was the introduction in 2019 of the current Mazda3, a so-called seventh-generation product for us," explains Roberts. "While lots of plans, large and small, for many around the world, were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic and not to discount the personal toll that this unprecedented period had on the lives of so many - for the Mazda brand, it brought an abrupt halt to what would have been a notable celebration of our 100th anniversary in 2020, while using this occasion to showcase plans for our next milestone anniversary."

If perhaps the raised-ride height CX-30 that arrived in South Africa during this period was not afforded the formal introduction it deserved, Roberts does believe that the recently launched new CX-60 package will simply pick up where those postponed plans from 2019 left off.