Mazda Motor Corp. is on track to post a second straight annual sales decline in China after September volume slipped 9 percent to 20,619.
It was the 17th straight month the Japanese brand’s sales fell, according to figures disclosed by Mazda’s China office.
Through September, Mazda’s China sales totaled 161,742, a decline of 23 percent from the same period last year.
Mazda builds the Mazda3 Axela and Mazda6 Atenza sedans, as well as the CX-4, CX-5 and CX-8 crossovers, in China with local partners China FAW Group Corp. and Changan Automobile Co.
It also sells the imported CX-3 crossover and MX 5 roadster.
Mazda is set to launch its first product based on its Skyactiv-vehicle architecture -- the redesigned Mazda3 Axela -- later this month.
In 2017, the Japanese brand’s China sales rose 8.3 percent to hit a record high of 309,407. Deliveries dropped 12 percent to 272,322 last year.
Other Japanese brands have not released September sales for China.
