With three Mazda 5 2.0 litre petrol TS2 automatic models, Mazda UK is supporting the British Army Rugby Union (ARU) based in Aldershot, the vehicles were delivered this month to their Secretary John Dickens.
“The Mazda 5 vehicles will greatly assist in the logistics for all the Army’s representative rugby teams. The spacious cabins and flexible sliding doors are ideally suited to our needs for transporting the teams and all their kit,” said John Dickens, ARU Secretary.
Mazda hope the sponsorship will also serve as a valuable communication tool to promote sales to military personnel during the 12-month placement.
Mark Cameron, sales and marketing director for Mazda UK commented: “We are delighted to be associated with the ARU and to be able to support the organisation and its teams in a practical way. While our partnership with the ARU is new, we look forward to a long-standing relationship in the future.”
Meanwhile, Mazda operates two distinct vehicle purchasing programmes for UK military personnel: a tax-free scheme operates for British forces personnel based in Germany, while UK-based personnel benefit from preferential terms.
Mr Cameron added: “Brand profile is crucial to business success and we are confident that the loan of the Mazda 5 vehicles will contribute to spin-off business with military personnel, who experience them first hand.”
The new partnership is not Mazda UK’s first relationship with rugby. Mazda UK is responsible for the right-hand drive markets of Malta and Cyprus and the company already has a rugby connection as its Maltese distributor provides a Mazda 5 to the country’s national rugby union team.
ARU Chairman, Brigadier Rick Libbey, added: “We are grateful to Mazda UK for the provision of the vehicles. Not only does it make it easier for our management staff to get around the country, but it also saves the ARU money which can now be directed at achieving the goal of making rugby accessible to our soldiers irrespective of ability and wherever they may be in the world. It is hoped that this will be the start of a long relationship between the ARU and Mazda.”
The Mazda 5 range of Compact Multi-Activity Vehicles (C-MAV) were upgraded last year, now the range has a more luxurious interior finish, more comfort and convenience, new suspension settings for optimised handling and enhanced refinement, improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.
The latest Mazda 5 seven-seater continues the original model’s success with a fresh‑looking design, electric power for the sliding rear doors (on Luxury Pack models), and an automatic transmission derivative with the 2.0 litre petrol engine.
With a 14-strong model line-up and a choice of four powertrains and six equipment levels potential buyers are spoilt for choice, petrol and diesel engined models are on sale now, priced from £15,770 (on-the-road), with the automatic transmission variant (priced at £18,220) and four Sport Luxury Pack models completing the range.
To find out more about the Mazda 5 range, please call Mazda Durham on freephone 0800 9804534 or Mazda Darlington on freephone 0800 9804532.