Shanghai (ZXZC)- Hit by the fierce outbreak of novel coronavirus, most of automakers in China encountered year-on-year plunge of over 70% last month, and the Japanese automaker Mazda is no exception.

（Photo source: Changan Mazda)

Retailing only 2,430 new vehicles, Mazda saw its China sales slump 79% from a year ago in Feb. The sharp slide also the fate both joint ventures inevitably faced. According to Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd, FAW Mazda delivered 1,253 vehicles with a 75.1% collapse, and Changan Mazda saw its retail sales nosedived 81.9% to 1,177 units.

Regarding the year-to-date performance, Mazda posted a doubly-digit drop of 32% in the world’s largest auto market with 23,393 vehicles delivered in total. The respective volume of FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda stood at 8,792 units (-27.1%) and 14,601 units (-34.6%)

Although fewer workdays in January due to the Spring Festival holiday, the automaker’s China deliveries only shrank 8.2%, comparatively mild over the virus-cause impact. Notably, FAW Mazda even boasted a 7.5% growth in the traditional off-season.

In spite of the flagging overall sales, Mazda still honestly announced the concrete sales data of several main models. The Mazda3 Axela was the hottest-seller in Feb., while its deliveries failed to exceed 1,000 units. Besides, the retail sales of the Mazda6 Atenza, the Mazda CX-4 and the Mazda CX-5 reached 660 units, 593 units and 212 units respectively.

It is worth mentioning that the Mazda3 Axela, with 11,657 units handed over, accounted for over a half of Mazda's Jan.-Feb. China sales.