Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported U.S. sales of 32,929 vehicles, its best month since last year's best-ever March. Including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, total MNAO sales were 43,496 vehicles. Mazda Canada, Inc. and Mazda Motor de Mexico both reported best-ever March sales with increases of 11.7 percent and 12.0 percent respectively.

Signaling the continuation of a shift in consumers' tastes to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, the MAZDA5 multi-activity vehicle reported its best-ever month, with sales of 2,758 units accounting for a 66.4 percent increase versus last year. Redesigned for 2008, the six-passenger MAZDA5 boasts more standard features, improved fuel economy and a new five-speed automatic transmission.

Mazda's highly acclaimed CX-9 crossover SUV, which has taken home more than a dozen awards including North American Truck of the Year and Motor Trend's 2008 Sport/Utility of the Year, reported a 9.7 percent increase in sales with 2,679 units sold.

On a calendar-year-to-date basis, Mazda sales in the U.S. were down 1.8 percent with 77,689 vehicles sold; MCI sales were up 10.4 percent with 19,597 vehicles sold; and MMdM sales were up 39.0 percent with 5,029 vehicles sold.

"The weakening economy is causing a ripple effect that's hurting all industries, including automotive," said Jim O'Sullivan, President and CEO, MNAO. "As we close our fiscal year, I can look back and say it was a successful one for Mazda from a sales and product perspective. With the record sales we had last March, we knew this month was going to be tough -- now we need to focus on moving forward, keeping our heads down, and remembering that the car business isn't a sprint, it's a marathon."