Mazda Motor Corporation, a third owned by Ford, has announced its plans to reduce its inventories in the United States to 90 days or less as the company offers more competitive leasing prices, Mazda president Lewis Booth said Apr. 10, according to a Bloomberg News report in the Detroit News.

"We've really struggled since the back end of last year; our sales have been disappointing," Booth reportedly said in an interview. "I want to be at 90 days or below, and sooner rather than later," he said, declining to be specific on the timing.

Citing Booth, Bloomberg said that Mazda, Japan's fifth-largest car maker, has about 105 days’ worth of inventories in the US which are mainly Mazda 6 sedans.

Sales of the model, released in late December 2002, were poor initially because the company's leasing prices weren't as competitive as those of rivals such as Honda 's Accord sedan and Toyota 's Camry, Booth reportedly said.

Bloomberg News said that Mazda, which relies on North America for more than a third of its sales and has 1.4 percent of that market, is attempting to win new customers and compete against larger rivals with its first new model in the market in two years as larger US-based rivals add incentives and demand lessens. Mazda's sales in the world's largest car market have dropped 4.7 percent since January, the report added.

Mazda's incentives in the US average about $2,000 a vehicle, compared with larger rival Honda, which said it budgeted for about $200 a car in the January to March quarter, the Bloomberg News/Detroit News report said.