Despite a tough two quarters, Mazda’s wholly factory-owned UK unit claims to be holding its own and heading for one of its best ever monthly sales tallies in March.
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Overall the UK passenger car market fell 7% in January and 16% in February with indications of an expected 5% decline in March though Mazda sales in the first quarter were about the same as Q1 2004 last year. The automaker achieved 2% market share in January (for the second month ever) and sales director Rob Lindley expects to do same in March with an all-time record sales volume in a single month of over 9,200 units.
Lindley added: “The 3 has been really hot for us this year which has helped while the 6 has done well for us, especially in the corporate sector which has been important as the retail sector has been depressed.
“When the market gets tough you have to make the most of what you have. We have got some great products now and the dealer network is enthusiastic and expanding.
“We are also making the most of the 3 by pushing it with a strong TV advertising campaign.”
A current ad shows a 3 using one of its headlamp washers to retaliate against a dog which has lifted its leg alongside one of the car’s tyres.
Mazda’s UK dealer network is growing steadily with 149 in place at the end of 2004 on the way to a target of 173 by the end of 2006.
“The growth in our dealer network has been a huge part of our success in the last two years, almost as important as the new product,” Lindley noted.
He said he was keen to close some significant open points including a number in the populous, well-off counties close to London, known here as the ‘Home Counties’.
