THIS year signals the first full attack on the fleet market by Mazda, after putting various strategies and personnel in place last year. Mazda Motor Corporation president Henry Wallace said 1996 had been a year of progress after some years of difficulty.

The company's financial performance had improved and research and development spending was being increased to further strengthen its product line-up. Wallace singled out the UK for special mention following the company's 45% sales increase in 1996 over 1995. He called 1997 'a year of growth' for Mazda as the company focused on five key areas: customer satisfaction, product, sales, financial improvement and new and emerging markets.

Mazda is to import a new pick-up van to the UK in autumn 1998 to boost its existing light commercial vehicle line-up. The vehicle is being built in Thailand in partnership with Ford, which owns a third of Mazda.