First Mazda CX-5s land in Aus

SUPPLIES of Mazda’s eagerly-anticipated next-generation CX-5 have started to hit the docks in Queensland’s capital, ahead of the official Australian media launch on March 27 and an on-sale date in early April.

An initial fleet of 1200 CX-5s will touch down after a two-week boat ride from the Hiroshima factory before the end of the month, to try and meet the significant demand that the Japanese car-maker is reporting has already grown to 33,000 expressions of interest.

“Never has Mazda seen such a response from potential buyers wanting information on a new vehicle,” said Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak.

“Of the almost 100,000 people who have, so far, entered our competition to win a next-gen Mazda CX-5, over 33,000 registered their interest in the vehicle, and a staggering 45,000 want to be contacted directly from Mazda once it goes on sale.”

The thousands of keen potential customers are clearly putting faith in Mazda to price the new CX-5 competitively, with no announcement yet made regarding showroom sticker prices.

The new version, however, is not expected to increase in price significantly over the current $27,890 before on-road costs entry price.

While the first Australian-spec cars have been produced at the Hiroshima plant, from November, additional manufacturing will start at the Hofu plant which is regarded as the company’s premium facility. The extra capacity is expected to help meet the significant Australian demand.

While Mazda is confident the added manufacturing capacity will ensure most Australian customers are not left waiting for their cars, Mazda Australia senior public relations manager Karla Leach said supply “potentially could be challenged on some spec levels.”“It’s fair to say we are prepared with a comfortable level of stock to support it as it is still a very popular car,” she said.

Compared with the first-generation model, the gen-two car will bring more choice for Australian customers with a new Touring variant added into the middle of the range between Maxx Sport and GT variants.

Ms Leach explained that the company expects a majority of the new Touring to be snapped up by returning CX-5 customers who want a slight step up in specification from their gen-one Maxx Sport.

Significant improvements to noise, vibration and harshness levels are also expected in the new model as well as an unchanged selection of engines, including a choice of 2.0-litre or 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder petrol engines, or a 2.2-litre diesel.

The new CX-5 will also be the third model to introduce Mazda’s new G-Vectoring torque-vectoring technology, following the Mazda3 and Mazda6, while the company’s latest i-Activsense safety and Skyactiv-Vehicle Dynamics technology will also feature heavily.