Mazda3 sales up 54 per cent on last August

Mazda3 – the stylish C-segment car which replaced Mazda 323 18 months ago – has seen sales increase by a dramatic 54 per cent at 524 units sold, compared to 340 in August 2004, contributing to 1,568 Mazdas sold in August holding a year to date market share of 1.88 per cent.

Meanwhile, 12 per cent of total Mazda sales in August were down to Mazda RX-8 sports coupé sales at 158 sold. The continued sales success of Mazda's unique rotary-powered four-door, four-seater sports car has ensured Mazda maintains its position as volume seller in the non-premium S (sports segment) reaching a 15.4 per cent segment share together with Mazda MX-5 sales at 13.1 per cent making a combined 28.5 per cent segment share.

Mazda MX-5 lives up to its title of the world's most popular roadster with continued sales momentum this summer. In August, 157 Mazda MX-5's left the showrooms and at the time of going to press a further 85 have already been sold this month. With only 150 units left these last few models of the second generation model are likely to be snapped up in the next few weeks ahead of the launch of the all-new Mazda MX-5 in November.

Pre-orders of the third generation Mazda MX-5 - priced from £15,600 on-the-road for the entry-level 1.8i model - are going well with over 250 models sold via the pre-order website www.mx5liveit.co.uk already.

August proved a successful first month of sales for Mazda's Compact Multi-Activity Vehicle (MAV) which went on sale on 22 July. Priced from £14,300 to £17,950 for the petrol versions Mazda5 features a regular six-seat layout – with the flexibility of a stowable seventh seat using Mazda's Karakuri seating.

Mazda6 sales reached just over 400 units in August as the last few remaining of the existing first generation model left showrooms, while a number of customers drove away in the eagerly awaited upgrade model.

Available in Mazda showrooms now, the Mazda6 priced from £15,100 upgrade gets revised petrol engines, new 6-speed manual and 5-speed automatic transmissions as well as lower noise levels, higher levels of interior comfort and some refreshing changes to the athletic exterior design.

Also last month, sales for Mazda2, Mazda's B-segment urban runabout, remained strong for August at 174 units sold while Mazda B-Series pick up saw a dramatic 100 per cent increase in sales compared to last August proving the popularity for the Zoom-Zoom pick up is on the increase.