Japanese carmaker Mazda sold 23,172 cars in China last month, the company's best-ever June in the world's largest auto market.

Changan Mazda sold 14,125 cars, edging 0.4 percent year-on-year, while FAW Mazda delivered 9,047 cars, a 49.1 percent increase from last June.

The June performance, which marked 15.1 percent growth year-on-year, brought China sales in the first half of the year to 135,540 units, up 15.3 percent from the same period last year.

It was the best January-June sales figure the carmaker has had in the country.

Nobuhiko Watabe, chairman of Mazda Motor (China) Co Ltd, expects fiercer market competition in the second half of the year but he said Mazda will launch more new models to continue the momentum.