Business
10 February, 2024
Change in name only
THE re-naming of the biggest Mazda dealership in the Far North from Westco Mazda to Cairns Mazda does not change the way the local family-owned business is successfully operated.
The Newell St dealership had been Westco Mazda since 1990 and owned by the Barry family since 1983.
Cairns Mazda general manager Scott King said the new moniker reflected Mazda Australia’s policy of naming the dealership after its location.
He said as the Balaclava firm was the only Mazda dealership in the city it was named after Cairns.
“It links the brand to the location in the same way as Mareeba Mazda and Innisfail Mazda. In Brisbane, for example, the dealerships are named after the suburb they are in, such as Asply Mazda and Mount Gravatt Mazda,” Mr King said.
“It doesn’t change the way we have successfully operated the business with more than 100 staff across six new brands and used cars,” he said.
“We are family-owned and family run. You will still see the same friendly faces our customers see every day.”
Mr King said the Barry family had a long association with Mazda dating 57 years. “My late grandfather, David Barry, was one of the first importers of Mazda into Australia with multiple dealerships across Queensland, including the Cairns area,” he said.
Mr King said Cairns Mazda was now regarded as a metropolitan dealer, selling up to 770 new Mazdas a year.
“We’ve built two new bigger Mazda showrooms over the years, an investment of several million dollars, in 2001 and 2020,” he said.
“Since the move to the Newell St premises we have had an uplift in sales.
“We have a dedicated team of 28 at Mazda across sales, parts and service.
“My father Chris King is the dealer-principal, and our sales manager is Darrell Callaghan.”
Mr King said it was an exciting time for Mazda with a roll-out of large luxury SUVs such as the CX-60 and CX-90 as well as the CX-80 in the third quarter of this year and the CX-70 probably by the end of the year.
“Our biggest seller continues to be the CX-5, but other popular models include the BT-50 ute, the CX-30 SUV, Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 passenger cars and the smallest SUV, the CX-3 – and not forgetting the iconic MX-5 roadster,” he said.
