Mazda will lift sales at home by about 5% this fiscal year as the hard-hit Japanese car market starts to recover, a top executive said in an interview published on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
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Senior managing executive officer for Mazda global sales, Stephen Odell, reportedly told La Tribune newspaper he expected the Japanese market to fall 2-3% this year but to remain stable in 2004.
“Sales have plunged some 10-15% in the past few years, but we have touched bottom,” he said, according to Reuters, adding: “The Japanese economy and car industry is recovering.”
Odell reportedly said Mazda’s own sales would likely rise 5% in the current fiscal year in its crucial home market, which accounts for a third of total sales.
According to Reuters, Odell also said he expected global unit sales at Japan’s smallest car maker to edge up 60,000 units to 1.06 million vehicles, and reiterated a 2003-04 forecast for 220,000 units in Europe and 300,000 units in two years.
