2014 Mazda Mazda3 Moves Brand to Best June Sales in a Decade

It may have taken a bit longer than expected, but Mazda's new wave of next-gen vehicles—including the 2014 Mazda Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX-5—finally seems to have gotten in synch in the marketplace, with all three turning up double-digit sales volumes in June. In fact, as noted by Ron Stettner, vice president of sales for Mazda North American Operations: "This is the first time in history that Mazda has had three model lines with great sales performance."

Of course, seeing the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 on that list isn't that much of a surprise, since the compact lineup, including both hatchback and sedan body styles, has long been the top seller for the automaker both in this country and around the world. And that doesn't seem in danger of changing after June, when the monthly sales total for the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 climbed 16 percent to reach 8,824 units. The difference-maker today is that the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 is joined by two other vehicles with Skyactiv powertrain and chassis technology, and the resulting combination of stellar fuel-economy marks and beyond-the-mainstream driving dynamics is having quite an effect on the industry's sales charts.

The Mazda6 is a case in point, boasting 4,793 sales and bumping up volume by a steep 24.8 percent. Further, the award-winning mid-size sedan has been hot all year, as evidenced by a year-to-date sales increase of 24.2 percent and 26,918 deliveries through the first six months of the year. Similarly, the compact CX-5 crossover cashed in another 7,943 deliveries last month, reflecting a gain of 15.9 percent; Mazda now has sold 38,055 CX-5 models through the first half of the year, with the vehicle running ahead of last year's six-month sales pace by 36.1 percent.

Even the 2014 Mazda2 got into the act last month. The nimble subcompact had just about slipped off ye olde radar screens entirely during June 2013, when Mazda moved just 743 of them, but now working on a rebound year, the car captured 2,103 sales in the prior month and dialed up the volume by 183 percent.