Mazda's Miata sales dominance continues, despite an overall slowdown in U.S. auto sales.
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Mazda sold over 900 Miatas in August, up 10% for the month. Year to date, Mazda's MX-5 Miata sales are up an amazing 25%. This, as auto sales in the U.S., fell for the seventh straight month overall. Car sales are down 15% this year in America, but not on Mazda lots. Mazda has mostly managed to maintain its rate of sales in 2017 with only a 2% decline.
- Related: Only One Convertible Is More Popular Than the Mazda Miata - Guess Which One
Mazda Miata Outsells Fiat 124 Spider
Our comparison begins with the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. With just 382 units sold, the Spider is losing its luster a bit due to product trim mix and a lack of manual stick shifts if Fiat fan clubs are to be believed. We have asked Mazda and Fiat in the past, and both companies say there is no inventory or production arrangement to keep the Spider's sales below the Miata.
Mazda Miata Outsells Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86
With the addition of the Miata RF to the lineup, the Miata is now much more directly in competition with the BRZ and 86 coupes. With sales of 337 and 586 units respectively, the Mazda Miata nearly outsells these two great cars combined. Credit a hard-top convertible or soft-top convertible roof as the reason why the Miata outsells these two cars. In most respects, most reviewers find both to be the match, or slightly better than the Miata in all respects. Until that roof goes down!
Mazda Miata Outsells Porsche Boxter/Cayman
Although many might think the Boxster and Cayman are not cross-shopped against the Miata, they would be wrong in at least the case of this writer who has done so. There was a time when the Boxster had lower performance than the current ND Miata and a price tag that was within reach of average folk. Porshe took the Boxter and Cayman upmarket and in their top trims, they are now junior supercars. Combined, they both account for about 626 units at Porsche. Whispers that Porsche is a sports car company are now proven false by the fact that the Macan crossover outsells Porsche's Cayman and Boxster by about three to one.
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This is amusing - in the U.S.
This is amusing - in the U.S., the Miata has only one rival: the Fiat 124 (which is also a Miata under the skin and engine). The BRZ and Toyota model are not rivals since they are not convertibles. The Boxster is not in the same price range, so it is not a rival; and the Cayman is not a convertible and not in the same price so it is also not a rival.
Not so. I cross-shopped the
Not so. I cross-shopped the ND with the BRZ, and I have found that I am not alone in this. There are even people who have owned both. They offer similar price / performance balance and can be considered competitors as the most driver-focused cars in their price range. The mid-engined Porsches are the only other entry-level 4-cylinder sports cars in the US market (although an argument can be made for including the Audi TT), and as with the FRS/ 86/ BRZ, there are plenty of people who cross-shop them with the ND or have owned both.