Proof Mazda's premium play is paying off? CX-5, CX-8, CX-30 and BT-50 help brand's sales soar

Mazda cemented its position as Australia's second-best-selling manufacturer in February, continuing a return to form for the Japanese brand, and seemingly acting as proof positive that its premium push is beginning to pay off.

Mazda shifted a total 8322 sales in February - around 1100, or 15 per cent, more than it managed in February 2020. The results see it sitting in second place on the sale charts for the month, trailing Toyota's massive 18,375 sales, but in front of Hyundai (6252), Mitsubishi (6202), and Kia (5871).

More impressive, it continues the brand's strong start to 2021, with a total 16,830 cars finding homes, a huge jump on the 13,925 it had managed to this point last year.

The results mark a potential end to an undeniable sales slump for the maker of some of Australia's most popular cars. At this point in 2018, for example, the brand had managed 20,026, followed by 18,725 in 2019, before sales dipped in 2020.

The dip seemed to follow Mazda's premium-style repositioning, with a new Mazda3 also welcoming a new and more expensive pricing strategy that the brand's global CEO might have been "too large".

But the brand certainly appears to be bouncing back. The results this year, Mazda Australia says, are down to the new Mazda BT-50, which cracked 1000 sales for the first time in February, as well as new variants in the CX-8 and CX-5 families adding sales, too.

The brand's new ute managed 1015 sales in February (up 83.9 per cent month on month), while the CX-30 (881 - up 52.7 per cent), CX-5 (2048 - up four per cent), CX-8 (443 - up 136.9 per cent) and MX-5 (50 - up 85.2 per cent) all contributing, too.