Mazda 2 on Guangzhou Motor Show

It's not one of the better known motor salons, but Mazda chose the Guangzhou Motor Show to unveil its new 2 Sedan today. It's a three-box saloon pinpoint-targeted at the rapidly growing Chinese B-car segment, where saloons are de rigeur. Sadly, the saloon won't make it to European dealers.

It will be built by the Ford group's Chinese partner, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Company in Nanjing, with sales kicking off in the first half of 2008. The aim? Mazda wants to sell 300,000 cars a year in China by 2010, and 1.6 million globally. And the way the market's growing there, there's little doubt it will achieve that target.

The 2 Sedan being unveiled today is exactly that. It's a 2 supermini replete with shrunken weight-saving nous, but with a notchback boot slung out the back. That means the boot is 250 litres bigger than the hatch's, now swallowing a handy 450 litres of stuff.

Interestingly, the 2 saloon is a more slippery shape than the hatch, managing a drag coefficient of 0.29 against the five-door's 0.32. What else is new for Chinese-spec cars? The 1.3 and 1.5 petrol engines will be tuned slightly differently, paired to four-speed auto or five-speed manual transmissions. The paint palette is simplified with seven exterior colours and a 'light beige' cabin.