The move, made in response to high fleet demand for the new model, means there are now a total of 225 Mazda6 vehicles on the manufacturer's corporate demonstrator fleet, up from the total of 75 vehicles originally planned.

The boost in corporate demonstrators also enables fleet managers and company car drivers to test drive the model for longer, with the brand offering of up to seven days if required by the customer.

Additionally, the brand's franchise dealer network have been given the opportunity to increase the number of Mazda6 models on their own demonstrator fleets with vehicles being loaned to local businesses.

The announcement comes in the same week that the Mazda6 won “Best Upper Medium” Car Award at the Fleet World 2013 Honours, praised as 'an extremely fine business car' with clever SKYACTIV technology.

Mazda is anticipating that up to two-thirds of total Mazda6 sales will be company cars and head of fleet Steve Tomlinson said: ‘The all-new Mazda6 is the most important fleet model in the Mazda range. The reception that the car received on the fleet tour and subsequently since its official launch in January has been fantastic.

‘As well as already making multiple unit sales to existing corporate customers, we are opening new accounts with organisations that we are speaking to for the first time.’

He added: ‘By expanding the demonstrator fleet we are able to give fleet managers and company car drivers more time with cars and make them available to more people to experience the model's unique characteristics.’

Tomlinson also said that the increase in demonstrators is expected to drive company car drivers at a local level into the dealer network, adding: ‘We also believe that the Mazda6 will be in high demand from small businesses, which is why we have given our dealer network the opportunity to expand their own demonstrator fleets.

‘We are making more Mazda6 demonstrators available to our dealers because the model has such strong appeal right across the entire corporate sector.’

He also commented on the fleet-wide perception that manufacturers supply cars on long lead times, saying: ‘We have a plentiful supply of Mazda6 models available. We are able to almost immediately supply cars to fleets and certainly ahead of the delivery times being quoted by many other manufacturers.’