The Mazda MX-5 Hits One Million

Mazda are a lesser car maker in Japan. They have to work hard to be noticed and that means being a little different. One of those is making a sports car, one inspired by the British varieties such as MG and Triumph that were successful in years gone by. Mazda did it very well and had a winner on their hands. They have just made one million of the MX-5 to prove it.

In 1989, the car was introduced. Initial sales were good but over the years the popularity of the sports car genre has waned. Mazda has persisted nevertheless and nearly 29 years later, the fourth generation is here. First up the NA was made from 1989-1997. Then the NB went from 1998-2005. The third iteration (NC) was from 2006-2015. The ND has just been released and will also be sold as a Fiat.

Over the years, production has gone down. The data below shows the consistent trend, with spikes for new model introductions. The data below doesn't give 2016 figures and I assume 2016 production will not make this list hit the seven digit number. Therefore they may be slight inaccuracies in some of the figures but it is very close. Also, identical sales and production for 2015 doesn't seem likely. However, that is what I got.

With sports cars not enjoying as much popularity, I wonder if a fifth series would ever be made. I guess if the business case is sound, it would.

Year	Sales	Prod
1988		12
1989	35,843	45,266
1990	75,798	95,640
1991	71,538	63,434
1992	53,020	52,712
1993	45,145	44,743
1994	38,824	39,623
1995	35,649	31,886
1996	33,201	33,610
1997	32,035	27,037
1998	49,205	58,682
1999	46,402	44,851
2000	44,610	47,496
2001	39,266	38,870
2002	38,958	40,754
2003	33,004	30,106
2004	26,763	24,232
2005	25,263	29,950
2006	44,243	48,389
2007	41,574	37,022
2008	28,743	22,886
2009	22,139	19,341
2010	20,066	20,554
2011	16,582	14,995
2012	15,836	15,400
2013	13,770	11,639
2014	11,916	9,150
2015	12,209	12,209
2016	?	?
Total	951,602	960,489

Data source: Everything explained.