A POOR start to the year for Mazda in the fleet market - with corporate sales plunging by half - has been blamed on the absence of a fleet sales director and limited product availability at the start of the year. However, the importer is looking to hit back with an enhanced model line-up which will be added to throughout this year, starting with the Premacy MPV on July 31 and the soon-to-be announced appointment of a new fleet chief.

Trevor Houghton-Berry stood down as corporate sales manager eight months ago to head the LCV division as general manager and, in the interim, corporate business has been drying up. Fleet sales for January to May of this year were 1,175 units as against 2,805 in the same period last year.

Announcing that a new (but as yet unnamed) corporate sales manager would be in place from July 1, Tim Tozer, managing director of Mazda Cars UK,said: 'Fleet sales have been falling, and that is what happens when you stop focussing on a certain area. Retail sales are well up, LCV sales are up - thanks to Trevor Houghton-Berry the focus has been increased in this area - but the focus is down on fleet, and we have been losing out.'