TOKYO - Mazda Motor Corp. is still studying whether to sell its redesigned Mazda2 subcompact in North America, senior executives say. Having a car to compete with the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris in the United States is not a high priority for Mazda, they say.

"As soon as North American dealers see this, they ask for it," says Mazda CEO Hisakazu Imaki. "But from an overall perspective of the brand and profitability, we choose not to market it in North America."

He spoke at the launch of the Japan-market version, known as the Demio. The Mazda2 goes on sale in Europe this fall . The production version was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March.

Ford Motor Co. plans to launch a U.S. car based on the Mazda2 platform. Mazda engineers took the lead in developing that platform, with Ford engineers in a supporting role. Ford owns 33.4 percent of Mazda.

"Our priority in North America is to grow in the fast-growing crossover segment," says Nigel Brackenbury, general manager of Mazda's global marketing division. "Mazda has limited resources. We have to choose which parts of the target to shoot at."

Mazda expects global sales of slightly more than 130,000 Mazda2s a year. That would be up from 100,000 a year for the previous-generation version.

The 130,000 figure excludes sales in China. Mazda expects to begin building the Mazda2 at Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., in Nanjing, at year end.

Most of the growth is expected to come in Asia and, to a lesser extent, in Europe.

To make it more appealing to those markets, the redesigned car is shorter and smaller than its predecessor. "Outside Japan, there's not as much demand for tall, space wagon models," Brackenbury says.

Of those global sales, about 60,000 a year will be in Japan, Mazda predicts. That represents a monthly sales target of 5,000, down from sales of a little more than 6,000 a month for the previous version. The decline is in line with an overall softening of the Japanese new-car market.

"We don't want to pursue only volume," says Masazumi Wakayama, Mazda's managing executive officer in charge of domestic marketing and sales. "We'd like to strike a good balance," he adds, among volume, profitability and a strengthening of the brand.