Car of the Year 2008 win drives up new Mazda2 sales
New Mazda2 has picked up a raft of awards
Author: David Miles
Published: 30 April 2008
Having featured in the final selection for the European Car of the Year and been voted Car of the Year in Japan plus other similar awards in other countries around the world perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised when Mazda2 won the 2008 World Car of the Year Award.
From an initial entry list of 39 new vehicles, 47 international automotive journalists from all over the world nominated the Mazda as their choice for this award which was announced in March. The Mazda2 edged out the new Ford Mondeo and Mercedes-Benz C-Class to take the title.
Initially available from September 2007 as a five-door hatchback the Mazda2 range is to shortly be joined by three-door models and these were premiered in March at the Geneva Motor Show.
Mazda UK says because of their attractive price, high levels of specification, good fuel economy and relatively low CO2 emissions they expect to see their small car sales triple in the UK this year to around 12,000 units.
Mazda overall continues to flourish in the UK, generally increasing their sales year-on-year both to retail customers and increasingly to the business and fleet users.
In 2007 Mazda UK sold 51,000 new cars, an increase of 2.6 per cent, in line with the overall performance of the new car market. But driven by demand for Mazda2 their overall sales for the first three months of 2008 are already up by 5.9 per cent to over 16,000 registrations.
As Mazda is part of the Ford family the all-new Fiesta, due to go on sale in the UK later this year, shares the same body architecture as the Mazda2.
So as the Mazda2 has impressed the motoring media and customers, expect the Fiesta to do the same.
Increasingly the supermini is the choice of car-buyers in an age where the economical, practical, easy to park and ´green´ small car is king.
Mazda has launched the new Mazda2 three-door supermini, available now from £7,999 on the road.
Is the new Mazda2 worthy of the World Car of the Year 2008 title? Or is it simply another competent and fun supermini?
The humble Mazda2 fends off competition to win coveted spot, while BMW is praised for 1-Series' green credentials and Audi R8 scoops performance and design gongs.
New Mazda2 three-door debuts at the Geneva Show, alongside Mazda Taiki and Mazda5Hydrogen RE Hybrid.
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