The most recent figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturer's of South Africa (NAAMSA) painted a sombre picture of the January-May 2008 period with overall new vehicle sales down by 14.6%.
But during the same period Mazda sold 8,474 units, which is up 45,9% on last year. At the same time Mazda increased its market share by 1.5%.
“It's an incredible and very encouraging figure considering that times are so tough in the industry,” says Brendan Lyne, general manager of Mazda South Africa. “In the last twelve months we've introduced some very exciting vehicles, with our customers having been attracted by Mazda's competitive pricing, strong product quality and exciting brand image.”
Mazda was the only brand to have two vehicles in the running for the 2008 South African Car of the Year title, with the Mazda2 and Mazda5 amongst the finalists.
The crown went to the Mazda2 and shortly afterwards the Mazda2 also walked away with the coveted 2008 World Car of the Year, beating 39 other top names.
Model introductions such as the Mazda2, Mazda5, CX-7 and BT-50 Freestyle Cab have boosted brand sales and with a number of new models due for launch in the second half of this year Mazda is confident that sales will continue to grow.
“The all-new Mazda6 will be launched soon which is going to strengthen our already attractive line-up,” says Lyne.
“It's an exciting time for Mazda South Africa. We have an extremely competitive product offering, we have won a great deal of critical acclaim in the media as well as in this year's Car of the Year competition, and customers are demonstrating their enthusiasm through their purchasing decisions. We will continue to roll out Mazda stand-alone dealerships in South Africa and with more exciting vehicles on their way Mazda is certainly on a positive upswing,” said Lyne.
