CX model proliferation not confusing: Mazda

MORE Mazda SUVs with double-digit suffixes are coming to sit alongside existing single-digit offerings, in addition to the new CX-60 SUV five-seat SUV that is priced at a significant premium over the similarly-sized CX-5 and the just-revealed CX-90 large SUV which is similarly positioned above the CX-9,

Among these are two more SUV models under consideration for australia – CX-70, and CX-80 – the former best considered as a five-seat version of the CX-90 with a swooping roofline and slightly shorter body whereas the CX-80 will be a stretched seven-seat version of the CX-6, similar to the relationship between CX-5 and CX-8.

Confused yet?

According to Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi, the proliferation of overlapping models with similar boot badges is not a problem in the showroom.

“We may get worried about nameplates but the consumer, in our experience, says ‘the more choices you give me, the better it is, because I can then fit it into very specific needs of mine, or price points’,” he said.

Mr Bhindi added that the naming strategy for new-generation models was not a new discussion, suggesting the question was raised when the CX-30 model was launched above the CX-3 in early 2020.

“Fast forward a few years, and consumers know exactly what they want,” he said Mr Bhindi.

“So when they come into a dealership, they have all the choices. They either have already made up their mind, or done their research on what car is the right option for them, or they’ve narrowed it down to two or three.

“Then they touch it, feel it, sit in it - they then say ‘that’s the car for me’.”

Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak added that Australia receives a unique mix of models compared to other countries.

“We’re already in a unique position as a major market to take both CX-60 and CX-90 … The US doesn’t get CX-60, they get CX-50,” he said

The CX-50 is an adventure-focused model currently built and sold only in North America, which does not look likely to change anytime soon.

Mr Doak pointed out that the CX-70 and CX-80 are not yet confirmed for the Australian market, but he did suggest the company simply needs to figure out if it can fit all the models under the Mazda umbrella.

“We haven’t confirmed it yet but obviously we’re interested, and we’re working towards it,” he said.

“The proposition is, ‘can we make it work?’. Mazda Corporation is happy for us to be on the consideration set as a market to take those cars if we want them, so it’s purely our decision to take them or not. Nobody’s forcing us to do it.”

Mr Bhindi suggested that dealerships are relishing the opportunity to have a broad spread of Mazda vehicles to be able to offer to customers, and that there will be no delineation in the showroom between the existing, established and ageing models and these new double-digit derivatives.

“The showroom presence for our portfolio – there is no distinction. A customer can come in on a Mazda 2 or a CX-90, and they will get the same high level of experience,” he said.

“Over many years and decades they’ve gotten very comfortable in having a broad range, because it actually gives them the opportunity to tailor a solution for what the customer needs are, as opposed to saying ‘no, I don’t have one of those for you, in that size, in that price point, or that configuration,’. The dealers are very comfortable.

“Digital tools also help educate the customer, but also make it easier on the sales team to demonstrate and pitch a car.”

Mazda chief program engineer for the CX-90, Mitsuru Wakiie, essentially confirmed the direct relationship between the CX-90 large three-row model and the slightly less intimidating (and yet to be revealed) CX-70.

“Your assumption might not be so wrong, that’s all I can say,” he said.

By the same token, like the CX-8 is a three-row version of the CX-5 five-seater, the CX-80 will offer a seven-seat upgrade path from the CX-60 without going for the flagship CX-90.

Where the new model strategy leaves the existing CX-5 model remains a story to be told, but Mr Bhindi said the brand has already confirmed a new-generation version of the CX-5 will happen, but he also hinted that it may not retain its nameplate.

“I think we have on record confirmed that CX-5 will continue, and there will be future generations. Whether it’s called that or not, that’s not what I’m saying,” he said.

Mr Bhindi said that, as with CX-5 continuing to be sold alongside and below the incoming CX-60 model, there will also be two large SUVs sold together in the CX-9 and CX-90, though he expects both will have their own distinct buyer groups.

“In terms of CX-9, we’re not confirming anything about the future, but for the rest of the year at least, we will launch CX-90, and CX-9 will be available,” he said.

“I’m not giving any guarantees that they will coexist forever. But it will give us a chance for CX-90 to establish and also CX-60 to establish.

“We will also make, at some point, decisions on whether CX-70 and CX-90 is right and appropriate for our market. And maybe that’s when we will make some decisions and announcements at that point in time.”

The Mazda CX-90 large SUV is set to become the brand’s most expensive model in Australia. It will sit above the existing CX-9, with a choice of six-cylinder petrol and diesel engine options available from the second half of 2023, ahead of a plug-in hybrid model arriving in, or beyond, 2024.

The smaller CX-60 model line - also with the choice of petrol and diesel six-cylinder engines, and a PHEV model,  is due to arrive around the middle of 2023, with pricing starting from $59,800.