Mazda January sales rose 6% in China

China Business News (Chongqing) - The retail sales of Mazda-branded vehicles amounted to 20,041 ones in China in January 2011, rising 6 percent from a year earlier, according to Mazda China.

In particular, FAW Mazda Motor Sales Co., a China-based venture of Japan-based Mazda Motor Corp., sold 13,373 Mazda6 and Mazda6 Ruiyi (in Chinese) cars, growing 13 percent year on year.

However, the sales of Chang'an Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., another Mazda venture in the country, stepped down 7 percent to 6,668 vehicles.

Notably, at the end of 2009, Chang'an Ford Mazda, located in Chongqing, southwestern China, set a sales target of 100,000 vehicles for the next year, said earlier reports.

In order to make a stronger presence in the world's largest auto market by sales, Mazda Motor plans to drive up the number of 4S stores under the wing of the two ventures to over 360 at the end of 2011. By the end of January 2011, the total number of Mazda stores had reached 312.