All-new Mazda3

The all-new Mazda3 has been developed to take the outstanding ownership experience its predecessor helped define to new levels of enjoyment, while fully embodying Mazda’s ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom’ strategy. The third vehicle in Mazda’s next-generation product line-up (after Mazda2 and Mazda6), it is built to deliver four key values:

an expressive design with dynamic Mazda design aesthetics
a sporty, balanced driving experience
high quality feel
high levels of environmental performance and safety

Mazda’s all-new compact follows in the footsteps of the first-generation model that set a new standard for compact cars when it was launched in 2003. It quickly became Mazda’s best-selling vehicle, reaching the 1 million units production mark faster than any previous Mazda model, before finding over 2 million customers globally and winning more than 90 international automotive awards. From the very beginning, Europe was among the largest regional markets globally for Mazda3, selling about 460,000 units during its life cycle here.

The most popular engine of the outgoing Mazda3 has been the 1.6-litre petrol, accounting for about two thirds of all engines sold in Europe, followed by the 1.6-litre turbo diesel and the 2.0-litre petrol. Of its two distinct body styles, the five-door hatchback has claimed about two thirds of sales and the sedan a third (Western Europe + Russia combined). In Western Europe alone, customers prefer the five-door 80 percent of the time. While the five-door is popular just about everywhere, the sedan’s strongest markets are Russia (with 64 percent of sales), Spain, Greece, Finland and Ireland.

In developing the all-new Mazda3, Program Manager Yoshiyuki Maeda says; “There was no mistaking the direction we had to take in developing the all-new Mazda3. We wanted to exceed the expectations of customers all over the world again, just like the original Mazda3 had done. To achieve this, we felt that we would have to provide occupants with an exhilarating experience that they would sense directly whether they were driving the car, riding as a passenger or even simply looking at it. We began by thoroughly examining what elements and performance levels are necessary, and concluded that we would have to enhance each aspect of the driving quality.”