Mazda3 Continues its Winning Streak at the Carsales PEOPLE'S CHOICE Awards

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – December 6, 2010: The Mazda3 has been voted Australia’s favourite small car at the 2010 Carsales.com.au People’s Choice Awards.

This latest award means that the Mazda3 is now a seven-time People’s Choice winner. It has topped the Carsales poll and been voted Best Small Car every year since it was introduced in 2004.

Based on genuine new car enquiries across the Carsales Network of automotive websites, the People’s Choice Awards are the country’s most comprehensive analysis of new car purchasing trends.

With votes coming from genuine new car shoppers, the People’s Choice Awards provide a measure of nameplate strength and indicate a strong correlation between enquiry and purchase.

Carsales Chief Executive Officer Greg Roebuck points out that the way the People’s Choice Awards are conducted provides a strong reflection of the sentiments and purchasing decisions of new car buyers.

“Unlike other awards, the winners are not chosen by a select group of people but rather the general car shopping public. They are the result of the literally hundreds of thousands of enquiries made by new car shoppers via Carsales’ network of automotive websites,” Roebuck said.

“Given we are Australia’s first choice for new car shoppers, we believe these awards give a very clear endorsement of the cars that are attracting the attention of Australian new car buyers. The strength of the respective models in their categories is evident.”

The Carsales Network praised the ever-popular Mazda3 saying “It provides plenty of driving enjoyment and is well equipped for the price. Add to that Mazda's long-established reputation for low running costs and reliability and you have a winning formula. Selecting it from among the small-car offerings in this market just comes naturally.”

Mazda Australia managing director Doug Dickson is happy to see Mazda once again recognised by the Australian public.

“It’s always pleasing to see the Mazda brand and our products being recognised but awards such as the Carsales People’s Choice Awards are particularly significant as they are voted on by the people actually out there looking to buy a new car.” he said.

The People’s Choice Awards are based on public votes collected from the Carsales Network's websites, including Australia's number one auto site, carsales.com.au, CarPoint.com.au and Redbook.com.au, as well as leading new car shopping destinations, DiscountNewCars.com.au and PrestigeNewCars.com.au.