10:30 am, February 7, 2014
DEALERS are reporting sales of the new Mazda 3 are exceeding all expectations.
January sales were 33 per cent ahead of forecast and total orders since launch on January 3 are approaching 1,500, again ahead of forecast.
‘The new model is first rate and is proving extremely popular,’ said Paul Brayley, dealer principal at Hertfordshire-based Brayleys Mazda, who has represented the brand since June 2012.
Brayley said Mazda’s Skyactiv models are proving to be easy to understand by customers.
‘If we understand it then so will our customers. It is a simple concept, if a car is lighter, fuel consumption will improve,’ he said.
David Tuomey, managing director of Windsors Wallasey, the Merseyside-based multi-franchise dealer group, which has been a Mazda dealer for more than 20 years, added: ‘The launch of all-new Mazda3 has come at just the right time for the network.
‘We are now seeing a broader spectrum of customers attracted by the new models and orders for the all-new Mazda3 have been all conquest,’ he said, adding that one of Mazda UK’s strengths was their communication with the dealer network.
‘We’ve worked very hard to improve communication with our dealer network and it’s encouraging to see both new and long-serving dealers appreciate that,’ said Mazda UK sales director Peter Allibon who noted that Mazda’s growing reputation as a franchise of choice for dealer groups looking to expand, would be enhanced as the company prepares for the launch of more ground-breaking models.
Open points in the network remain in Edmonton, East London; Hull; London’s Docklands; Reading and Sunderland.
