Mazda Marches Forwards to Record Market Share

DARTFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – April 7, 2009: With a record share of the UK retail market, the imminent launch of the all-new Mazda3 next month and a revised Mazda MX-5 on sale now, one of the few places in the UK car industry where the bosses still smile is Mazda UK.

“We’ve bucked the trend of gloom and despair that you can see throughout the industry at the moment,” said Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director Mazda Motors UK. “January and February were the best start we have had to a year in terms of market share and we continued that trend in March,” Mr Thomson added.

Mazda’s share of the retail market was 3.1 percent in the last quarter, up from 2.7 percent a year ago. Share of the overall market was 2.5 percent, up from 2.3 percent last year. “One of the keys to doing business in tough times is making the most of every opportunity,” commented Mr Thomson. Used car sales have also been buoyant since the start of the year and with Mazda’s ever-increasing customer base, dealers are finding parts and accessories business is a healthy revenue stream for them.

“In 2001 when Mazda UK was formed our market share was just 0.6 percent so we are entering our 2009 financial year as a company with eight years of continuous growth behind us,” highlights Thomson.

Success at the beginning of this year has been helped by new finance arrangements with Mazda’s new credit company Santander. “We go into April with 0 percent finance offers not just for the first time on Mazda2 but also across the whole range,” said Mr Thomson. “Using Santander for our financing gives us and our dealers a real competitive advantage.”

Judging by the trade-ins the 157-strong dealer network takes, new retail and fleet customers are switching to Mazda almost on a daily basis. “Once we get a customer we tend to keep them. Our customers are very loyal and we are getting on to significantly more company user-chooser lists because Mazda6 and Mazda3 are very credible choices for fleet drivers,” Thomson adds.