Mazda 3 2009 News

Mazda is on a high right now after securing its best sales month in history in June with 8406 vehicles sold.

A dying Sydney newspaper this week rather cleverly headlined their coverage of the GM humiliation as “Government Motors Holden”.Not bad that. A flash of the old cleverness.Except, of course, taxpayers forking out to subsidise the building of cars they themselves don’t want is not exactly news in this country.Yeah, yeah, yeah - everyone’s cock-a-hoop that Holden’s remaining 6500 workers, its dealer network, and the thousands whose livelihoods are contingent on this brand, are not going to be out of work. For now at least …The manufacture of cars badged Holden – whether it’s an essentially 20th century six cylinder sedan bought mainly by fleets or a re-badged Daewoo – means the marque remains as firmly clamped to the breast of subsidy as a newborn to its mummy.The federal Government has committed $6.2 billion of your and my money to succouring local car makers. It’s paying Holden to build the globally-engineered, four-cylinder car (and already endlessly spruiked) Cruze here from next year.So it had better be bloody good.It had, in fact – given that Holden has lost $300 million in recent years – be better than the Mazda3.That’s the benchmark for sub-$30K car quality. As the May sales figures showed yet again, it’s the car on which Australians spend their own moneyYes, the ever declining Commodore sold 3683 to the 3’s 3038 – but not one of the Mazda’s sales was to fleets, without which Holden’s scarcely overtaxed production lines would be barely ticking over. Nor can Holden continue to rely on the approximately 75 per cent of bung ’em at out a bargain price fleet orders - not given the haste with which they shed value.So the only question is if Holden is to justify the continued injection of funds from people who really don’t want to buy them, is this: will the Cruze be good enough to trouble the Mazda3?Because if it’s just another anodyne re-badge job – if it’s just another Barina, Viva or Epica – you can officially remove that “i” from icon.

Despite new entrants coming into the market, the preference for hybrid vehicles has fallen 74 per cent among private buyers this year, according to the latest VFACTS industry figures on fuel and buyer

"There is no doubt that the current situation is challenging," Mazda Australia boss Doug Dickson said at the launch of the company's all-important Mazda3 this week."However, we are looking on it as an opportunity to move forward. If you just pull down the shutters and hope it is all going to go away then there is a very real danger that when you do have another look it will be too late."Mr Dickson said that while the new car market for this year was likely to be around 850,000 he was quietly confident that there would be a gradual return to the one million sales mark realised for the past two years."In real terms new cars are much more affordable, they are more reliable than ever and they still have a real `wow' factor," Mr Dickson said. "People still want to have a new car."The Australian new car market has fallen almost 20 per cent below where it was at the same time last year and is currently running at levels not seen since 2003.Mazda is one of a handful of companies that have enjoyed an increase in market share — if not real sales numbers — this year and Mr Dickson believes that with the launch of the next generation of the Mazda3, Australia's most popular small car, that situation will improve."The popularity of the Mazda3 not only makes it an important car for Mazda but an important car for the Australian new car market," Mr Dickson said.Since the launch of the original Mazda3 in 2004 more than two million have been sold world-wide with 164,000 sold in Australia. 

Despite a new car market shedding almost 20 per cent of year-on-year sales — and running at a monthly rate comparable to that of 2003 — Mazda is refusing to look beyond

Details are swiftly emerging about Mazda’s hot MPS hatch, after we revealed new photos of the car yesterday.

It’s not the one at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, but the one played out under lights at dealerships across the country for almost every day of the year.When the sales top one million vehicles it has to be rated as a good year, even though there were plenty of tests, trials and tribulations on the way to the second-best result in motoring history.The eventual mark was 1,012,164, although that will not be matched in 2009 despite the excitement generated by the newcomers at this year’s Melbourne show.All forecasters are predicting a 10-15 per cent slide in new-car demand, as the global economic meltdown and rising unemployment take the edge off consumer confidence, with a likely result in the 850,000-900,000 range.But there is no questioning the million-car run through 2008, which followed a record in 2007, as Toyota stormed to its sixth straight year as sales leader while the Holden Commodore was Australia’s favourite car for the 13th consecutive year.“This is positive news for the Australian automotive industry,” says the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce’s Murray Collins.“There is little doubt that 2008 was a challenging year, so to achieve one million new vehicle sales is a very good effort.”There were plenty of highlights last year, as Maserati claimed “fastest growing car company” rights, Audi had another boom year, and Mazda, Subaru and Volkswagen also improved their results among the top-10 runners.But Holden and Ford went backwards again, as their big Aussie sixes suffered the worst results on record thanks to fuel prices.Mitsubishi, Nissan and Honda were also down from the highs of 2007. Their combined results were actually beaten by Toyota, which topped the charts with 238,983 sales — and also exported more than 100,000 Melbourne-made Camry and Aurion sedans.Brand T is almost certain to be No.1 again in 2009, thanks to its momentum and GM Holden’s decision to concentrate on profits ahead of outright showroom volume.“The next 12 months are expected to be tough for all concerned,” Collins says.“But the industry is looking ahead with confidence after receiving significant support towards the end of 2008.”The $6.2 billion New Car Plan showed the Rudd Government was committed to a sustainable automotive industry. And the Special Purpose Vehicle — the $2 billion floorplan rescue package — was a timely breakthrough by Treasurer Wayne Swan to end the dealer finance crisis.”The story of Australia’s new-car showrooms in 2008 was a win for buyers, as big dollar deals on everything from a $29,990 Holden Commodore to a $9990 Hyundai Getz helped prevent a total meltdown.Big stocks mean the analysts were predicting continued deals through to this month to clear ‘08 vehicles, followed by the arrival of the major newcomers of ‘09.But there will be a penalty, with prices rising off the back of the slide in the Australian dollar through the second half of last year. Greats ‘08 TOP MODELSHolden Commodore 51,093Toyota Corolla 47,901Toyota HiLux 42,956Mazda3 33,755Ford Falcon 31,936Toyota Yaris 26,097Toyota Camry 23,067Mitsubishi Lancer 19,688Toyota Aurion 19,562Nissan Navara 18,574TOP BRANDSToyota 238,983Holden 130,338Ford 104,715Mazda 79,826Mitsubishi 60,692Nissan 59,214Honda 52,571Hyundai 45,409Subaru 38,492Volkswagen 29,875 The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

...is proof that the designers and engineers got it right. It also means that buyers will view any replacement of that car with great interest.With this in mind, Mazda has given the new Mazda3 the necessary style to keep it ahead of the small-car pack, while tweaking the car’s suspension and engines.Mazda Australia hopes Australians will fall in love again with the new-generation Mazda3 sedan and hatch.Visually there’s a lot to like about the newcomer. It gains a bold “smiling” face, a sharper profile and improved quality and interior ambience and keeps the unmistakable automotive DNA of a Mazda3 in the areas of engineering and design.Like the previous model, the newest 3 will be available in Neo, Maxx, Maxx Sport, as well as a performance 2.5-litre SP25 variant.Apart from dual airbags, Mazda has also upped the ante with safety equipment, making dynamic stability control standard across the range.Inside, the cabin has a distinctly sporty orientation with a restyled dashboard, more supportive seats and a contemporary feel.The instruments and centre console are positioned to tightly link the driver to the car in a seamless fashion. The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

Although it has confirmed the hot turbocharged hatch, apart from these teaser photos, performance details are scarce.

It is believed to be the first time the brand has grabbed number one sales spot for a month.