What kind of crisis is Mazda facing in the US?

According to Carscoops, a senior Mazda executive in North America shared that the Japanese brand is facing a problem in its efforts to increase sales.

Neither the quality of the vehicles nor the dealerships meeting standards are the issues; the CEO of Mazda North America believes the only barrier to Mazda's booming sales is that customers still don't fully understand what Mazda represents.

In an interview with Automotive News , Mazda North America CEO Tom Donnelly acknowledged that the company's biggest long-term challenge is brand recognition.

"If you randomly ask people on the street what Mazda represents, you'll get about 10 different answers," he shared.

CEO Tom Donnelly believes that the ambiguity surrounding the brand's value stems in part from Mazda's ongoing expansion of its product portfolio over the past few years.

He recalled the time when Mazda was widely known among car enthusiasts for its compact Mazda3 model, before the Mazda CX-5 became the flagship model of the Japanese brand.

Currently, Mazda has several models that contribute significantly to sales, including the CX-50, CX-70, and CX-90, but they offer greater variety in terms of both price and size.

Mazda doesn't offer large body-on-frame vehicles or pickup trucks like many of its competitors, but it's positioning itself in a segment higher than the mainstream. However, Mazda isn't yet truly recognized as a luxury car brand.

This leaves Mazda in a "mid-range" position between the mainstream and luxury segments, and therefore it is looking for a suitable driver to boost its annual sales in the US from the current 400,000 vehicles to 500,000.

According to Carscoops , it has been reported that CEO Tom Donnelly once told dealerships that the company needed to become more special and desirable, and to create a stronger emotional connection with customers.

The larger goal is to help Mazda customers be more likely to return and purchase vehicles repeatedly, rather than switching to competing brands after their lease term ends.

In a competitive environment where almost every automaker claims to possess advantages in sporty performance, premium interiors, or cutting-edge technology, Mazda believes that the customer experience at the dealership will play a crucial role. Mazda dealerships in the US have invested heavily in showroom upgrades, and Mazda believes this environment can strengthen the brand image.

Carscoops notes that Mazda still needs to define its true position in the US automotive market in 2026 and beyond.

Could this Japanese automaker be a near-luxury alternative to Toyota and Honda, or will it be a mainstream brand focused on the driver experience? Does Mazda aim to become the Alfa Romeo of Japan with reliable engineering, or will it represent something entirely different?