IRVINE, California — The Mazda 2, named last year’s World Car of the Year, will finally make its North American debut in early December at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. It will go on sale in late 2010 in the U.S. and Canada as a 2011 model.

A close relative of the Mazda 2, the Europe-designed Ford Fiesta, will reach U.S. showrooms next spring, months ahead of its cousin. Both cars share a common architecture, engineered largely by Mazda when it was still controlled by Ford.

The Mazda 2 is sold in the Japanese domestic market as the Mazda Demio.