Mazda (MZDAY), despite being the little brother among Japanese auto giants Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Nissan (NSANY), had a great year.

The company had a record-breaking 2024 in the US, with sales up nearly 17% to just under 425,000 vehicles sold. Mazda also had its best December ever, powered by sales of its CX90, CX70, and CX50 crossovers.

Mazda has a reputation for sporty, enthusiast cars, like the Miata, that won’t break the bank and a dedicated following in the US that has resulted in strong sales despite a challenged environment.

“Affordability itself is one of the significant headwinds facing the entire industry right now,” Tom Donnelly, Mazda North America president and CEO, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. 

“We've had to make some adjustments in terms of [product] mix and our programs and incentives; we've been able to maintain pricing overall, and again, this has led to our most successful year in our 54-year history here in the US market.”

Mazda

Donnelly cited the sales success of the CX90 and CX70 models, which offer a plug-in hybrid option too, accounting for 15% to 20% of revenue. The biggest surprise for Mazda has been its CX50 hybrid, which Donnelly said is the “fastest turning” vehicle on dealer lots — it lasts, on average, only 3-4 days in inventory.

It’s why Mazda took its time with electrification. The company has had only one battery electric vehicle (BEV), and it was only sold in a few states. The vast majority of Mazda buyers want gas-powered and hybrid vehicles, though Donnelly said a fully fledged EV is on the way in 2025.

The push for electrification by governments both here and abroad is another “headwind” facing the industry, Donnelly said, and is a big reason why rivals like Honda and Nissan are merging. The costs are too high, and the “unrealistic regulatory environment” is pushing automakers to turn to one another to survive.

Sjoerd van der Wal via Getty Images

Mazda has said it is counting on its partners Toyota and Panasonic for its electrification needs — but a merger isn’t on the table.

Another headwind is the upcoming Trump administration — which is itching to bring tariffs to the auto sector

Though Mazda has a factory in Alabama that produces the CX50, it also builds cars in Mexico and its home market Japan.

Donnelly and the Mazda team have been “game-planning” for months now what the tariff effect could be, and the options don’t look good so far.

Read more: How do tariffs work, and who really pays them?

“What's clear is no business in any industry can absorb the magnitude of what's being talked about here,” Donnelly said on tariffs. Even though Mazda could ramp up output in Alabama, where it produces the CX50, and decrease output in Mexico, these things don't happen overnight.

“We have a supply chain that allows us to consider those things, but these are decisions that take months to potentially a year time frame in terms of the adjustments you make from a pricing perspective,” he said.

Those potential speed bumps aside, Mazda contends it has enough going for it to maintain sales momentum throughout the rest of the year.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram

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