A dealer’s concern in last month’s AM – that registrations of the Mazda2 suffered because the  sales and marketing

spotlight was pointed elsewhere during a year that saw the brand introduce three new models and two facelifts – has prompted a robust response.

Amarjit Shokar, boss of 2012 AM Award-winning dealer Romford Mazda, said sales have been good, but could have been better if the small car had been given more marketing support.

Mazda2 sales were up 16% last year and Mazda Motors UK sales director Peter Allibon said it had been a “core component” in the overall brand’s growth of more than 20% in 2015.

“Mazda2 is our biggest selling retail car and so while its launch was closely followed by the new Mazda CX-3 and then the Mazda MX-5, 40% of our media spend in 2015 was focused on Mazda2.”  

The investment continues in 2016 with a Mazda2 television campaign airing throughout February.

“The car will demand a significant share of our media spend to deliver the significant retail volume we have planned for the year,” said Allibon.  

“The combination of this media investment and the consumer offers that keep the car accessible to a wide range of customers will help our network deliver the planned volumes profitably.  

“Should opportunities arise to increase the UK’s allocation of Mazda2 then we take a sensible view on this and align our marketing activity accordingly”.

“This year is going to be one of consolidation with modest levels of growth,” he said.

“The Mazda brand and our current product range gives us the capacity to grow beyond 50,000 annual sales, but our dealer network is profitable at that level, so if we do expand beyond this point we have to look at the size of our network and our own infrastructure to support those extra sales, while at the same time ensuring we continue to deliver the desired customer experience.”