3 September 2002: The Irish franchisees for Mazda expect to sell up to 3,000 units of their new 6 series car in a full year, depending on how the overall Irish car market performs next year.

John Coffey, chief executive of the Mazda division of Motor Distributors Ltd, said last night that achieving a 10 percent penetration of the segment is the company’s target.

And he revealed that 300 units of the Mazda6 have already been sold in Ireland since it was released in limited numbers and only in saloon form to dealers during the summer.

A full range of the 6 series is now on sale in saloon, hatchback and wagon forms. Engines are 1.8-, 2- and 2.3-litre petrol and two 2-litre diesels outputting 118bhp and 133bhp.

The price range for the Mazda6 in Ireland is E24,640-E41,260, and there are three specification levels - Comfort, Touring and Sports. An AWD version of the Sports Wagon also has a 5-speed automatic transmission and auto-levelling suspension.

John Coffey also noted that the new Mazda2 replacement for the Demio will become available on the Irish market in the early part of next year, and a replacement for the 323 - the Mazda3 - will come towards the end of 2003.

The next genmeration of the Mazda rotary-engined sports cars - the RX-8 - will also be introduced to Ireland in mid-year.