Upgraded Mazda6 to Conquer British Fleets

The British division of Mazda recently revealed it is expecting its upgraded Mazda6 model to boost the company’s fleet sales, thanks to its lower CO2 emissions and improved fuel economy. In the 12 months to March 31, 2011 Mazda expects to sell more than 10,500 Mazda6 models of which about 7,600 (72 percent) are predicted to be fleet sales.

Fleets and company car drivers have a choice of hatchback and estate models, three petrol and three diesel engine options and four equipment levels, namely S, TS, TS2 and Sport.

All engines in the new Mazda6 lineup are Euro Stage V compliant for emissions except for the 1.8-litre which will be Euro Stage V compliant from July 2010 production.

“With its well positioned list price and lower rates of depreciation, I expect the upgraded Mazda6 to retain its fleet leadership position and the model to provide a springboard for further growth as it appeals to more company car drivers,” Peter Allibon, fleet and remarketing director at Mazda UK, said in a release.

“I expect diesel models to account for about 90 percent of core end-user fleet sales,” added Allibon.

List prices across the upgraded Mazda6 lineup have increased by an average 4.8 percent, and now range from £16,995 to £23,445.

Recently, UK researcher CAP Monitor stated Mazda6 is worth more at the fleet benchmark replacement period of three-years/60,000 miles than any of its key company car rivals.

For example, the best selling Mazda6 2.2d TS2 163 hp costs £19,760 and will retain 35 percent of its value over the benchmark period to be worth £6,850, while the 2.2d TS 125 hp model with a list price of £17,930 will also retain 35 percent of its value to be worth £6,175, depreciating by only £11,705.