Mazda believes that one of its USPs is offering something for everyone. Head of fleet Steve Tomlinson explains to John Challen how the approach could be a winner for drivers.

Head of fleet Steve Tomlinson

How is Mazda positioned as a fleet brand?

ST: While we are very much a fleet-focused brand, as a manufacturer that has historically been constrained by supply at a global level, we obviously look to generate the best possible return for the corporation in every single national sales company across Europe and the world. If we had a factory in Europe, there might be more of a focus on fleet but, in Germany and the UK, it only accounts for about 30% of our volume, compared with the 50% market average.

As head of fleet operations for Mazda UK, my role is to develop a volume plan and then deliver it almost to the unit. The role itself has always been about feathering the throttle and making sure that the run rate is at the appropriate level to hit the plan in all the different channels and across all the models that we sell. Getting the balance right is the skill in the role that we are performing here. This year we will deliver 30% fleet of our total volume, while the plan next year is for a similar mix but 8,000 more units. As a result, we’ll achieve year-on-year fleet growth and around 10,000 fleet units.

What are the vehicle and customer plans for the near future?

ST: If you look at our product range, we’ve got a nice balance between hybrids, plug-in hybrids and BEV. There will be more PHEVs coming, by virtue of the MX-30 R-EV, the range-extender version of the EV, which is a car that we feel will be attractive to company car drivers due to the BiK benefits and the driving range, It’s not necessarily the case that we are going to build lots of extra relationships than we currently have today. I’m sure we will have more end-user customers next year than now, but what is more likely is a greater penetration within the fleets we sell cars to currently.

What fleet-friendly models are proving the most successful for Mazda?

ST: We tend to find that our best years selling a product is usually the second and third ones. In the first year, it can take a little bit of time for visibility and the critical mass of people seeing them on the road. So our first six months tends to be a little bit of a slow burn, which is what happened with CX-60. But we’re now hitting plan consistently with that car in the fleet sector each month. We over performed in March and April – and May is looking very promising, too. It is now doing what we expected it to and maybe we, as the manufacturer, get a bit carried away with a new car and will it to be a huge success from day one.

We’re equally confident with MX-30 R-EV. The EV-only range is over 50 miles and the combined range is more than 400 miles. We think it’s going to tick quite a lot of boxes, especially for drivers who live close enough to work to be able to drive without ever using the engine, but who want the convenience factor of engine power for longer journeys.

Are you seeing any other opportunities for Mazda within the fleet market?

ST: Because many manufacturers have come out of the B-segment in recent times, Mazda2 is comfortably overselling to a point we won’t be able to sustain because it is proving very popular in fleets right now! Despite the fact that it’s a 24V mild hybrid and good on CO2, drivers are having to look at what cars are still on the market and Mazda2 is proving very popular. There are certain B-segment car names that roll off the tongue, but drivers are now finding our car and liking it. The Skyactiv technology in our Mazda3 and CX-30 means that, for an internal combustion engine car, there’s decent performance, CO2 and fuel efficiency. They might not be what a typical fleet driver is looking for, but versus other hybrid products they stack up really well.

So there are no plans to exit that segment too, like others have done?

ST: No, we’ve recently launched the 2023MY version of Mazda2, with residual values set on the product at the beginning of April. We’ve upgraded the car with new front and rear end differentiation, new alloys, interiors – essentially a full refresh – so long may it continue.

We don’t want to make any rash decisions on cars or powertrains. We might only have two diesel models in our range – the CX-5 and CX-60 – but we are committed to what we are calling a multi-solution approach to future transport. So we believe, for the time being, there’s a requirement for a range of powertrains because not everybody wants a BEV, for example. There are customer requirements that mean we just need a bit of everything, so we are committed to continuously developing and improving the internal combustion engine to make it as efficient as possible. Even if the future requires a lot more electrification, but you can still use ICE as the base technology, the more efficient the engine is the better. Because it gives an overall package that is an improvement on everything else out there.

It’s been a challenging few years, so how has Mazda coped with supply issues?

ST: Obviously we have been affected and we can’t claim that we weren’t. But the feeling we have – and the feedback that we’ve had from our dealers, leasing companies and end users – is that we fared better than most. If you wanted any car today, we are quoting the same lead times as we were pre-pandemic. That means if someone orders a car now and we don’t have it in stock, we promise it will arrive here from the factory in Japan within either 12-16 weeks or 16-20 weeks, depending on the model line. Availability is a big thing that we are promoting. If you’ve got people looking for a vehicle that has a lead time of up to 12 months, why not offer them a Mazda instead?