MAZDA has signed a deal to supply 3,030 vehicles to National Car Rental and its prestige self-drive brand Guy Salmon in 2005, worth more than £40 million at showroom prices.

Next year the manufacturer will supply a total of 2,000 Mazda6s and 1,000 Mazda3s to National Car Rental, with 30 of its flagship RX-8 models being added to the Guy Salmon fleet. National Car Rental has been Mazda’s preferred daily rental partner for the past two years and the 2005 deal signals a further strengthening of the relationship, which began in 2003 with the supply of 750 Mazda6s and continued this year with the supply of 2,000 models.

All the cars in the 2005 contract are petrol-engined and will be operated by National Car Rental and Guy Salmon on a replacement cycle of a maximum of six months/10,000 miles. They will then be defleeted through Mazda’s franchise network.