New Mazda Expected To Enhance UK Sales

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Tue, 11 Mar 2008

Mazda has revealed its high expectations the new Mazda 2 model, which it expects will significantly boost UK sales by the end of this year.

Mazda unveiled the supermini, which shares much of its sub structure with the new Ford Fiesta, in Geneva and said supplies of the car should reach UK dealerships by May.

Rob Lindley, Mazda’s managing director, Rob Lindley, said: "We launched in September and it’s running at 140 per cent of our sales objectives."

"The old model never really established a customer base in any real volume. Its best market share was 0.8 per cent, while the new model is taking 3.5 per cent."

Lindley said the arrival of the new three-door variant, which is as it is expected to become the biggest selling range in the carmaker’s line-up, would help increase the range from its best ever annual sale of 4,800 units to 15,000 by the end of the year.

He added that 80-85 per cent of its sales have so far been completed with just 20 per cent of buyers coming from the business sector and suggested that the car would help boost dealers’ used car business by providing a lower entry point in the future.

"Typically the majority of Mazda dealers have used cars in the £8,500-£9,000 bracket. Two or three years down the line you can see they will have good volume of less expensive stock," he said.

Mazda also confirmed that this year’s British Motor Show would see the unveiling of the face-lifted edition RX-8 sportscar, adding that Britain now accounts for two-thirds of the car’s European sales .