5:10 am, September 11, 2013
MAZDA dealers can expect a boost in their overall sales thanks to the new Mazda 3, the firm’s European president and CEO has told Car Dealer.
Following the CX-5 and Mazda 6, the C-segment Mazda 3 will feature the brand’s latest Skyactiv technology, and according to Mazda Europe chief Jeff Guyton, the UK market ‘eagerly awaits the new model’.
Mazda expects dealers to sell an average of 9,000 new Mazda 3s a year when the model arrives in 2014.
The hatchback, which takes the fight to Volkswagen’s Golf, will be priced from £16,695 and comes as standard with luxuries such as Bluetooth, Smart City Brake Support and internet connectivity.
‘We have sold more than 3.5m Mazda 3s across the globe in the last 10 years and the new Mazda 3 follows the latest Mazda 6 and CX-5 models in being the brand’s first fully-equipped Skyactiv vehicles,’ Guyton told us.
‘Between now and 2016, we will be launching eight new models to follow it and we aim to see 80 per cent of the Mazda range carrying Skyactiv technology.’
According to Mazda, overall sales in the UK – the firm’s second largest market in Europe – continue to grow while year-on-year figures have also increased.
‘The industry is up and sales in the UK also continue to strengthen,’ added Guyton. ‘We have seen a significant increase in operating net profit for the first time in four years with sales up 20 per cent on last year to more to more than 150,000 units in the European market.’
Motors.co.uk was also at the Frankfurt Motor Show and produced this video of the car
