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June 16, 2009
This Week:
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Mazda Launches All-New Axela in Japan
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All-new Mazda Axela Sport 20S (with factory-installed
options and i-stop) |
Mazda Motor Corporation has announced
the sales launch of the all-new Mazda Axela (known overseas as
the new Mazda3) in the Japanese market. Mazda’s mainstay model
has been fully redesigned and updated with a host of new
features, including the ‘i-stop’ engine stop/start system. Sales
commence today at all Mazda, Mazda Anfini and Autozam dealers
nationwide. Manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (including
sales tax) for the all-new Mazda Axela range from 1,660,000 to
2,678,000 yen. The target sales volume in the Japanese market is
2,000 units per month.
Since the Mazda Axela first debuted in
October 2003 it has become a core model in Mazda’s lineup,
selling over two million units worldwide and currently
comprising over a third of its annual global sales. For the
second generation Axela, the development team was determined to
once again exceed customer expectations. |
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As a result, the new model inherits and
evolves Mazda’s highly acclaimed sporty performance and exterior
styling. Additionally, it arrives with an outstanding interior
with greater quality and functionality, and offers advanced
environmental and safety features.
All 2.0-liter front-wheel-drive (FWD)
models are equipped with i-stop, Mazda’s unique engine
stop/start system, which uses combustion energy to restart the
engine in just 0.35 seconds, about half the time of most other
competing systems.
The i-stop system also suppresses noise
and vibration as the engine shuts down and restarts, ensuring
that drivers experience a natural driving feel with no sense of
discomfort. Prices for models with i-stop start from an
affordable 1,890,000 yen (including sales tax). |
The 2.0-liter FWD Axela with i-stop provides 15
percent better fuel economy than the previous model.*1 The 1.5-liter
Axela models are newly equipped with a continuously variable
transmission (CVT). This combination enables a sporty ride and top class
fuel economy*2 of 18.4 kilometers per liter. All models in the Axela
range qualify as Super-Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (SU-LEV), achieving
exhaust emissions that are at least 75 percent lower than the levels
required by the Japanese government’s 2005 exhaust emissions standard.
Additionally, six of the nine model grades qualify for Japan’s eco-car
incentive program as well as tax reductions of 50 or 75 percent under
the government’s eco-car tax reduction program.
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Together with its superb environmental
performance, the new Mazda Axela also boasts more spirited
driving performance. Mazda’s engineers achieved notable weight
reduction while efficiently increasing the vehicle’s body
rigidity, and reworked the aerodynamics so that the new Axela
provides enhanced handling and straight-line stability at high
speeds. Drivers can enjoy substantially improved comfort and
cabin quietness due to reduced road noise, engine vibration and
wind noise.
The updated exterior design, which
features a new version of Mazda’s hallmark five-point grille,
carries forward the original model’s sporty impression and
injects an added touch of dynamic and refined styling. |
Photos: Mazda
(June 2, 2009)
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