We all know that Mazda’s->ke53 meal ticket in the auto industry is the new MX-5 Roadster->ke1185, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the Mazda3->ke504, not the MX-5, is the brand’s fastest-selling vehicle of all time.

Coming in second is the Mazda6->ke346, which is quite a seller itself. Maybe not to the level of the Mazda3, but in-demand enough that the brand recently celebrated the 2 millionth Mazda6 ever built by the company. What’s more impressive? The company took only eight-and-something years to achieve the milestone number.

The car was launched back in 2002 at the company’s Hofu Plant No. 2 in Japan, and after a little under nine years, car number 2 million left the production block late last month.

Accoding to Seita Kanai, the company’s senior managing executive officer and head of R&D and Program Management, the Mazda6 was instrumental in bringing global recognition to a Japanese brand that, for the longest time, found it difficult to move out of the shadow cast by its more prominent Japanese peers, Toyota->ke88 and Honda->ke34. "The Mazda6 is one of the core models which helped establish Mazda's brand image globally,” he said.

“I was the first generation model's development program manager, and I still have a special fondness for this terrific car. I'm grateful to the two million-plus customers around the world who have purchased a Mazda6. I would like to say thank you to each and every customer."

Congratulations to Mazda for achieving quite a milestone. Here’s to hoping that car number three million will come a lot sooner.

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