Press Release
Introduction
- More than 920,000 Mazda3’s produced globally since launch, Mazda Motor Europe’s top selling model since mid-2005
- Production at Ujina No.2 plant increased in 2005 to meet high worldwide demand
- 65 global automotive awards, including second place in 2004 European Car of the Year
Mazda has a long tradition of compact car production with the Mazda 323, which is Mazda’s best-selling model to date with over 1.9 million units sold in Europe alone. When its successor, the Mazda3, was launched in September 2003, it was Mazda Motor Corporation’s fourth new-generation vehicle and had all of the strengths of its three predecessors built into a single outstanding compact. And it would need them to compete in Europe’s large, highly competitive and important C-segment, which in 2005 accounted for around 3.3 million cars, more than 20 % of the entire passenger car market. With its collection of outstanding attributes – a fun to drive character with emotional styling and high levels of craftsmanship – Mazda3 promised to be much more than just a worthy successor to the Mazda 323. But nobody could have 6 known at the time just how worthy it would turn out to be.
Mazda3 – the child prodigy
In March 2005 – only 17 months after launch – Mazda3 broke the best single month record for volume of its very successful predecessor, and did it much earlier in its life cycle than the 323 had in Europe. But this was only the beginning. By mid-2005 Mazda3 had become Mazda’s best-selling vehicle in Europe and for that year almost 96,000 units had been registered and it had captured 2.5 % of the compact segment. So far a total of around 222,000 Mazda3s have found owners since launch. The popularity of Mazda’s child prodigy is not just a European phenomenon. Since its arrival on the world stage – August 2003 to April 2006 – more than 920,000 Mazda3s were produced worldwide and demand so strong that production at Mazda’s Ujina No. 2 plant in Hiroshima had to be increased at the end of June 2005.
Mazda3 hatchback + MZR 1.6-litre petrol – the combination of choice
When you see a Mazda3 on the road in Europe today, it will probably be a hatchback with a 1.6-litre petrol under the bonnet. Of Mazda3’s two distinct body styles – a racy five- door hatchback and an elegant yet athletic sedan – the five- door is by far the most popular in Europe. In Italy, for instance, 98 % of all Mazda3 registrations in 2005 were for hatchbacks. In France it was 96 %, in the UK 90 %, in Germany 84 % and in Spain this figure was 69 %. In all, nearly 80 % of all Mazda3s sold in 2005 were hatchbacks. Under the bonnet, petrol led the way in 2005 with 70 % of all customers choosing an MZR power unit. Of these, 71 % were an MZR 1.6-litre petrol – not surprising, as this spirited 105 PS engine delivers high levels of Zoom-Zoom driving fun.
Global automotive awards – 65 and still counting
Customers have not been the only people on the planet to find the Mazda3 appealing. The car, like the Mazda6, has also been very popular among automotive experts the world over. In 2004, Mazda3 proved it could compete with the big boys in its segment by placing second in the European Car of the Year award, tied with the VW Golf. Mazda3 has won many national titles including Car of the Year in Denmark, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Canada and Turkey. It has also won several prestigious automobile publication and consumer awards, including Auto Week’s America’s Best Economy Car 2004 award in the USA. Through April 2006, Mazda3 had won a total of 65 automobile or consumer awards globally.
