Mazda Motor Corp said on Wednesday its sales in China in the January-March quarter rose 22 percent to a record 37,217 vehicles, and forecast a 33 percent jump for all of 2009 to 170,000 vehicles.

For March, sales grew 18 percent to 14,239 thanks to brisk sales of the Mazda6 sedan, the Japanese automaker said. That outpaced a 10.3 percent rise in the overall Chinese market, which had been bolstered by government incentives to lift demand.

Mazda is due to launch a remodeled version of the Mazda6 on April 25 in China, but will continue to sell the existing version due to its popularity, a spokeswoman said.

Mazda operates a three-way car manufacturing venture in China with its top shareholder Ford Motor Co and Changan Automobile Co, and has a separate venture with FAW Car.