Vinesh Bhindi

MAZDA Australia has more than 50 per cent of its dealer network signed up to its new own-branded finance offering and is expecting more to follow as the company continues to expand services to customers next year with measures such as a guaranteed future value program.

Introduced earlier this year as a partnership with Toyota Australia, Mazda Finance gives dealers access to a line of services under the Mazda brand name for the first time since before the global financial crisis late last decade, when it was previously run in collaboration with Ford Credit.

Speaking at an end-of-year media briefing in Melbourne, Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi said he was encouraged by the positive response from dealers to the new “soft launch” of the new scheme this year.

He said the company also signed up its first retail customer in June, and was now preparing to ramp things up in 2020 with a full-scale launch to the marketplace.

“We soft-launched Mazda Finance this year and have had a very positive response from our dealer partners. I think we’ve raced to more than 50 per cent of them signing up to the program and expect more to come through as they see it in action,” Mr Bhindi said.

“Mazda Finance allows customers a better overall experience through the whole purchase and ownership cycle and allows us to make sure the car they’re in is the right one for them as they move through life stage or as new products are introduced into the marketplace.

“We will be making more announcements about Mazda Finance over the next few months as we launch this into the marketplace in 2020.”

Mr Bhindi said the next step in the company’s customer experience offering is Mazda Assured, which is essentially a guaranteed future value (GFV) program.

“We know how important future value of our cars is to our customers and it is an area we have performed well in for a number of years,” he said.

As Mazda continues its push upmarket with every new model release, and as buyers move in and out of vehicles more quickly than ever before, measures such as GFV will become increasingly important.

In an interview with GoAutoNews Premium, Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak referenced the newly updated Mazda2, which has shot up in pricing and specification to now start beyond $20,000 plus on-road costs.

“We don’t do rental car sales with Mazda2, we never have done, and I think the residual of that car is very, very strong,” he said.

“(But) next year we’ll have another string to our bow with Mazda Finance and that looks at the buy price versus the disposal price and works out how much it’s going to cost, and I think that gives us some opportunity there.

“We think that Mazda Finance and a product like Mazda Assured talks to people who are in the generation of, you know, doing a package for your phone or doing more with a contract rather than buying outright. And I think that opportunity, particularly with Mazda2, is a good one.”

Mr Bhindi also said the company would continue to work on updating dealership facilities to reflect the company’s more premium stance.

“2019 has seen 50 dealerships complete major CI (corporate identity) updates to deliver a more premium, upmarket brand experience for our customers when interacting at the dealerships,” he said.

“We have another 36 dealerships also with a CI update work in progress, and the remainder are in the planning phase.

“Investment of this scale also is a great indicator of where our dealers see the business and how they are buying into Mazda’s long-term plan to expand into a more premium experience for private consumers.”

Mr Bhindi also said Mazda Australia was continuing to increase investment in other facilities, but would not be drawn on providing further details ahead of an announcement planned early next year once relevant approvals are obtained.

“The message is that we are continuing to invest in Australia so that we remain, in a business sense, in a pretty strong position, similar to what our dealers are doing,” he said.

By Terry Martin