2012 Mazda5 Sole Bright Spot in May Sales Figures

Mazda, the famous Zoom Zoom brand, has a less than auspicious May sales figure that was only slightly brightened by the 2012 Mazda Mazda5, which is the least-sporty Mazda in the stable.

Now that's not a knock of the Mazda5 by any stretch of the imagination. It's just a sign of how hard Mazda worked to put a positive spin on its 20.9 percent drop in sales from May 2010 to May 2011 with a total of 17,875 units sold down from 22,605 in May 2010. On the bright side, Mazda sales year to date are 5.2 percent ahead of last year but that does lag the industry average of 14.0 percent in growth.

The Mazda5, which the real world calls a mini-minivan and the Japanese automaker calls a multi-activity vehicle, reported its best May sales since 2008 with 1,628 vehicles sold, up 14.3 percent versus last May. That puts it well ahead of the overall industry average drop of 3.7 percent, according to figures from MotoringIntelligence.com, via the Wall Street Journal. Mazda5 sales are up 22.9 percent year-to-date, which is well above the industry average.

Things are looking good for Mazda south of the border, but not so much north of the border. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 2,057 vehicles, accounting for a 14.1 percent increase versus last May. MMdM's year-to-date sales are up 18.6 percent, with 10,902 vehicles sold. Mazda Canada, Inc. (MCI) sold 6,587 vehicles, down 18.0 percent versus last May. MCI's year-to-date sales of 27,806 vehicles are also down 17.0 percent.