irishcar.com

06 February 2003: Mazda in Ireland has a target of achieving more than four per cent of the national vehicle car parc, to 60,000 vehicles.

This is against the 3.3 per cent share of Mazda-badged vehicles on the road in 2001, and would bring the numbers up from 46,000 then to 60,000.

A key model to help this happen is the new Mazda2 replacement for the 121 and the Demio, which was revealed to Irish motoring journalists in Barcelona yesterday.

The car, due in Ireland in April, will compete with the Ford Fiesta, Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo and other cars in the larger-sized end of the B segment supermini.

David Moran of MDL's Mazda Division said that the Mazda2 will be brought into Ireland with a full range of engines - 1.25-, 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol, and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel.

In addition to the 5-speed manual transmission, the Mazda2 will be offered with an 'automatic manual' in both the petrol and diesel 1.4-litre sizes.

All Mazda2s are 5-door hatchbacks. They are built on a Ford assembly line in Valencia in Spain, but many hundreds of Japanese engineers have been brought to the plant to make sure that Mazda's legendary quality control is maintained.

David Moran said his estimate for a market turnnout in 2003 is 150,000 vehicles, and he expects Mazda to increase its shore to 3 per cent with the help of the Mazda2 and the Semperit Irish Car of the Year-winning Mazda6.

From a high of 6 per cent market share in the early 90s, Mazda in Ireland had dropped to around 1.5 per cent last year, but initial figures for sales in January 2003 showed a strong increase to around 2.5 per cent share.

"And our share in the latter half of 2002 was also much stronger, with the availability of the Mazda6," Mr Moran said.

The B segment in Ireland is responsible for 33,000 cars sold a year, around 20,000 of them being vehicles with engines of more than 1 litre capacity.

Mazda ireland's annual target for the Mazda2 is 1,100 vehicles.

	February 2003 - by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan
Mazda 2 a 'key' car for Mazda Ireland growth 06 February 2003: Mazda in Ireland has a target of achieving more than four per cent of the national vehicle car parc, to 60,000 vehicles. This is against the 3.3 per cent share of Mazda-badged vehicles on the road in 2001, and would bring the numbers up from 46,000 then to 60,000. A key model to help this happen is the new Mazda2 replacement for the 121 and the Demio, which was revealed to Irish motoring journalists in Barcelona yesterday. The car, due in Ireland in April, will compete with the Ford Fiesta, Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo and other cars in the larger-sized end of the B segment supermini. David Moran of MDL's Mazda Division said that the Mazda2 will be brought into Ireland with a full range of engines - 1.25-, 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol, and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel. In addition to the 5-speed manual transmission, the Mazda2 will be offered with an 'automatic manual' in both the petrol and diesel 1.4-litre sizes. All Mazda2s are 5-door hatchbacks. They are built on a Ford assembly line in Valencia in Spain, but many hundreds of Japanese engineers have been brought to the plant to make sure that Mazda's legendary quality control is maintained. David Moran said his estimate for a market turnnout in 2003 is 150,000 vehicles, and he expects Mazda to increase its shore to 3 per cent with the help of the Mazda2 and the Semperit Irish Car of the Year-winning Mazda6. From a high of 6 per cent market share in the early 90s, Mazda in Ireland had dropped to around 1.5 per cent last year, but initial figures for sales in January 2003 showed a strong increase to around 2.5 per cent share. "And our share in the latter half of 2002 was also much stronger, with the availability of the Mazda6," Mr Moran said. The B segment in Ireland is responsible for 33,000 cars sold a year, around 20,000 of them being vehicles with engines of more than 1 litre capacity. Mazda ireland's annual target for the Mazda2 is 1,100 vehicles.	David Moran of MDL's Mazda Division
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