The Maza Axela is a compact car manufactured by the Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan. Outside of its home market, it is marketed as the Mazda3. The Axela was introduced for the 2004 model year, replacing the Mazda Familia (323 or Protegé in export markets). A more performance-oriented version of the Mazda3 is marketed as Mazdaspeed3 in North America and Mazda3 MPS in Europe.