Mazda is planning to sell 31,000 cars in the UK in 2013 - a 20% increase on last year's total - as its latest generation of products gain recognition.

The company is working from a total of 26,200 units registeed in 2012, but Mazda believes the ambition is realistic with new models and competing in new sectors.

"After five years of challenging business conditions I finally feel we have turned the corner and we are in charge of our own destiny," said Jeremy Thomson, managing director, Mazda UK.

"While a 20% growth might sound ambitious, it is all growth from our new generation cars. There’s nothing in our forecast that worries me," he said.

"Our network is reporting exceptionally strong interest in our cars and customer offers.  Independent surveys and data from our media partners backs that up and order take is strong."

The decision to cut the sales network from 157 to 135 outlets to boost sales per outlet and improve dealer profitability, combined with run-out of previous generation Mazda6 and short supply of the globally popular Mazda CX-5 compact crossover were the main factors affecting the 2012 sales performance.

"However, our capacity for growth has never been greater. Skyactiv technology has given us a point of difference to other makes."

Sales Director Peter Allibon added that although year-on-year sales were down last year, Mazda UK "achieved its planned registration volumes for the year - we are now looking up".

"The newly-launched Mazda6, second of the Skyactiv technology models after the Mazda CX-5 crossover, is doing well in the fleet sector with weekly order take getting close to the levels the previous generation Mazda6 enjoyed in its heyday and when the segment was much larger," he said.

"The launch was phenomenal and I’m very confident about the car’s performance and look. The press reaction and the awards it has already won speak for themselves."

The Mazda6 won the Fleet News award for Best Upper-Medium Car in2013, crucial, the company says, for a segment that is around 75 percent corporate sales.

"Our plan of 7,500 Mazda6 sales in the 2013 financial year is now looking like a conservative number as we can go beyond that as natural demand builds," said Allibon.

"There has been very strong global demand for the Mazda CX-5 and we have not been able to get enough to meet the UK demand. We sold almost 3,100 in FY2012 and we’re planning for more than 6,000 in this financial year as supply of the car ramps up."

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