Shanghai (ZXZC)- Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd. reported on January 4 that its annual sales in 2018 declined 12% year on year (YoY) to 272,322 units. Two Sino-Japanese joint ventures—FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda sold 108,970 units and 163,352 units throughout 2018, dropping 12.3% and 11.8% over a year ago.

In December, the Japanese automaker's sales in China reached 20,546 units, slumping 37.8% over the previous year. According the sales data compiled by ZXZC, by the end of December, 2018, Mazda has suffered YoY drop in monthly sales for eight consecutive months in the world's largest auto market. However, thanks to the growing performance from January to April, the automaker's year-to-date (YTD) sales presented positive growth for first eight months in 2018.

Nobuhiko Watabe, chairman of Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd., said that Mazda has seen its total sales in China exceed 3 million units. Meanwhile, the cumulative sales of Mazda's vehicle carrying SkyActive Technology surpassed 1 million units in May, 2018.

Changan Mazda had new models rolled out last month and this month. On December 7, 2018, the joint venture launched the Mazda CX-8—a brand-new large-sized 7-seater SUV model. The 2019 Mazda CX-5 also hit the market on January 2 with prices ranging between RMB179,800 and RMB245,800.