New Mazda midsize SUV
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
New Mazda midsize SUV
Mazda is planning a new mid-sizer to slot in below the CX-9 and above the CX-5. The company only had one generation of the CX-7 which lasted from 2007-2012 before being retired. The CX-8 as it's dubbed is already sold in Mazda's home country. Plans are to build in the US at the future Mazda/Toyota plant and also catch up with hybrid/EV tech.
http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...for-u-s-growth
Four years ago, CEO Masamichi Kogai predicted Mazda would be notching annual U.S. sales of 400,000 vehicles by now. Instead, it is in a second-straight year of decline, with volume under 300,000 and market share retreating from an erstwhile goal of 2 percent.Now Kogai says the U.S. resurgence will start in earnest in 2019 and kick into overdrive in 2021 when Mazda adds an all-new crossover designed for and built exclusively in the U.S.Giving first details of the new nameplate in a Nov. 16 interview, Kogai said it has potential to be the brand's best-seller. He said it would slot into Mazda's three-vehicle crossover lineup without cannibalizing the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9.
The vehicle will be produced starting in 2021 at the plant Mazda and Toyota plan to jointly build in the U.S. Mazda will initially dedicate its entire capacity of 150,000 units there to the vehicle. For comparison, Mazda's best-selling nameplate, the CX-5, managed just 112,235 units in 2016."We have big expectations," Kogai said of the new utility entry. "This is our declaration that we are going to grow our business in the U.S."Arriving in 2021, Mazda's new SUV is decidedly long term. But Kogai hopes for a hit by developing something uniquely tailored to U.S. needs."We are actually going to introduce a totally new and different type of SUV," he said. "R&D is coordinating with our North American operations on that right now."
The CX-5 is one of three Mazda crossovers and is its best-selling nameplate. The lineup has room between the CX-5 and CX-9, where the discontinued CX-7 used to sit, said Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. Said Sargent: "They've got to fill out their crossover lineup if they want to increase volume significantly."Mazda is racing to tilt its car-heavy lineup toward crossovers, which accounted for only 57 percent of its U.S. sales through October. Kogai wants Mazda's balance to be 60 percent.
The industry at large's sales were 64 percent light trucks through October.Fortifying crossovers is only part of Mazda's roadmap to growth in the U.S., where sales fell 2.4 percent to 241,108 through October and market share hovered at 1.7 percent.Before the new crossover lands, Mazda is unleashing a blitz of new technologies, overhauling the U.S. dealer network and reining in incentives to get the U.S. back on track."We are in a transitional period," Kogai said. "We need to improve and strengthen our brand."
The new tech begins arriving in 2019, when Mazda introduces a mild hybrid, an electric vehicle and the company's Skyactiv-X gasoline engine, which features compression ignition for more power and better fuel economy. Also debuting that year will be a sexy new design language and a redesigned, lightweight vehicle platform with better driving dynamics.But another big focus will be brand image and retail experience.
Mazda routinely ranks below average in the J.D. Power sales satisfaction, customer satisfaction and brand appeal studies. Consideration ranks ninth among non-luxury brands, according to *** Automotive, behind every Japanese rival but Mitsubishi. Meanwhile, Mazda's residual values still trail its main Japanese counterparts, and the brand spends more on incentives, per average transaction price, than Honda, Toyota and Subaru, according to ***.Last year, Mazda embarked on a three-year dealership upgrade targeting some 130 outlets across the U.S.
The campaign entails moving some locations and changing dealers, introducing new outlet designs and strengthening dealer training. Incentives are being structured around customer service and customer evaluation, instead of raw volume, Kogai said."We still need to have an improvement in the quality of sales," he said. "We are sticking to our right-price sales approach to improve our brand. We are building that foundation now. Customers are really seeing the value of the vehicles and not just purchasing them because of price."
The vehicle will be produced starting in 2021 at the plant Mazda and Toyota plan to jointly build in the U.S. Mazda will initially dedicate its entire capacity of 150,000 units there to the vehicle. For comparison, Mazda's best-selling nameplate, the CX-5, managed just 112,235 units in 2016."We have big expectations," Kogai said of the new utility entry. "This is our declaration that we are going to grow our business in the U.S."Arriving in 2021, Mazda's new SUV is decidedly long term. But Kogai hopes for a hit by developing something uniquely tailored to U.S. needs."We are actually going to introduce a totally new and different type of SUV," he said. "R&D is coordinating with our North American operations on that right now."
The CX-5 is one of three Mazda crossovers and is its best-selling nameplate. The lineup has room between the CX-5 and CX-9, where the discontinued CX-7 used to sit, said Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. Said Sargent: "They've got to fill out their crossover lineup if they want to increase volume significantly."Mazda is racing to tilt its car-heavy lineup toward crossovers, which accounted for only 57 percent of its U.S. sales through October. Kogai wants Mazda's balance to be 60 percent.
The industry at large's sales were 64 percent light trucks through October.Fortifying crossovers is only part of Mazda's roadmap to growth in the U.S., where sales fell 2.4 percent to 241,108 through October and market share hovered at 1.7 percent.Before the new crossover lands, Mazda is unleashing a blitz of new technologies, overhauling the U.S. dealer network and reining in incentives to get the U.S. back on track."We are in a transitional period," Kogai said. "We need to improve and strengthen our brand."
The new tech begins arriving in 2019, when Mazda introduces a mild hybrid, an electric vehicle and the company's Skyactiv-X gasoline engine, which features compression ignition for more power and better fuel economy. Also debuting that year will be a sexy new design language and a redesigned, lightweight vehicle platform with better driving dynamics.But another big focus will be brand image and retail experience.
Mazda routinely ranks below average in the J.D. Power sales satisfaction, customer satisfaction and brand appeal studies. Consideration ranks ninth among non-luxury brands, according to *** Automotive, behind every Japanese rival but Mitsubishi. Meanwhile, Mazda's residual values still trail its main Japanese counterparts, and the brand spends more on incentives, per average transaction price, than Honda, Toyota and Subaru, according to ***.Last year, Mazda embarked on a three-year dealership upgrade targeting some 130 outlets across the U.S.
The campaign entails moving some locations and changing dealers, introducing new outlet designs and strengthening dealer training. Incentives are being structured around customer service and customer evaluation, instead of raw volume, Kogai said."We still need to have an improvement in the quality of sales," he said. "We are sticking to our right-price sales approach to improve our brand. We are building that foundation now. Customers are really seeing the value of the vehicles and not just purchasing them because of price."
http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...for-u-s-growth
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Repost? We've got an earlier thread on this vehicle.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...apan-only.html
That thread, though, dealt with the vehicle as Japanese-market only.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...apan-only.html
That thread, though, dealt with the vehicle as Japanese-market only.
#4
Lexus Champion
Repost? We've got an earlier thread on this vehicle.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...apan-only.html
That thread, though, dealt with the vehicle as Japanese-market only.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...apan-only.html
That thread, though, dealt with the vehicle as Japanese-market only.
This announcement seems to be about a new crossover utility vehicle specifically for North America.
"We are actually going to introduce a totally new and different type of SUV," he said. "R&D is coordinating with our North American operations on that right now."
#5
Lexus Champion
Well we really need this not near enough SUV models for sale.
#6
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
I really like the styling of this SUV. Mazda's always been the sporty handler but never quite got fit/finish details right in the past. But they gambled on diesel and so now the real news might be that they're exploring hybrid/EV. Honda is the natural rival to Mazda products. Both of them have sharp handling sedans. Honda always won on fit/finish and quality but Mazda was always like a Bimmer with FWD.
If you look at the Mazda 6 thread, it kinda makes sense now, why they didn't want to spend too much money on a fancy sedan. They're worried about missing out on the crossover market.
If you look at the Mazda 6 thread, it kinda makes sense now, why they didn't want to spend too much money on a fancy sedan. They're worried about missing out on the crossover market.
#7
Lexus Fanatic
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#8
Lexus Champion
#9
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
My 1979 626 and its beautiful dash and tractor torque 4 cylinder was an amazing car. Two door coupe. The 1988 626 sedan with the 5 speed was even better. Always a soft spot for the sharp handling of Mazda vehicles. They just have a nice edge to them.
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Well, you can see for yourself what the SUV-craze is doing to the sedan market. GM, for 2019, may drop 5 or 6 of its current American-market sedans in production. Buick is already dropping Regal sedans for 2018...the 2018s will be either wagon or hatchback. And Chrysler has already dropped the 200 sedan.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-27-17 at 07:46 PM.
#11
Lexus Champion
I really like the styling of this SUV. Mazda's always been the sporty handler but never quite got fit/finish details right in the past. But they gambled on diesel and so now the real news might be that they're exploring hybrid/EV. Honda is the natural rival to Mazda products. Both of them have sharp handling sedans. Honda always won on fit/finish and quality but Mazda was always like a Bimmer with FWD.
If you look at the Mazda 6 thread, it kinda makes sense now, why they didn't want to spend too much money on a fancy sedan. They're worried about missing out on the crossover market.
If you look at the Mazda 6 thread, it kinda makes sense now, why they didn't want to spend too much money on a fancy sedan. They're worried about missing out on the crossover market.
- All automakers see electrification as the future -- hybrid-electric vehicles in the short-term and pure EVs in the long-term -- but Mazda has no expertise in electrification.
- As a small automaker with no sugar daddy to help pay the bills (a role formerly held by Ford), Mazda must be very careful about what products it is introducing.
- Mazda has been spending a LOT on the gasoline compression ignition SkyActiv-X engine that will be introduced in the next-generation Mazda 3 next year. No other automaker has been able to make gasoline compression ignition work (yet), not even Toyota.
- Because Mazda has little money, it must partner with a larger automaker to develop electrified vehicles, which Mazda has no expertise in. Toyota happens to have this expertise and Toyota is also willing to invest money in Mazda to try to prevent the small Japanese automaker from being taken over by a foreign automaker (like how Nissan is controlled by Renault).
- Mazda is also spending money on new crossover utility vehicles (new CX-9, refreshed CX-5, China-only CX-4, Japan-only CX-8, North American-only CX-7(?)).
- So it cannot afford to bring out a new Mazda 6 right now.
#12
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
One of the things that drives sales of crossovers in the US market is step in height, utility and sporty handling and acceleration. If that comes at the price of some minor fuel economy penalty, than consumers will opt in for easy in/out. We sometimes forget that not everyone wants to stoop in and edge their way in/out of a nice sedan. It's just the way society has evolved.
We are larger and lazier people who demand an easy step in and a higher view of the world. Europeans deal with endless taxes and smaller countries, not to mention high fuel costs and so they love wagons and hatchbacks. It's just the way of the world. I'm not surprised Mazda is doing the butchy wagon version of the 6 platform in all its CUV's. This CX will be interesting to see, but didn't Toyota already do this with the Venza?
We are larger and lazier people who demand an easy step in and a higher view of the world. Europeans deal with endless taxes and smaller countries, not to mention high fuel costs and so they love wagons and hatchbacks. It's just the way of the world. I'm not surprised Mazda is doing the butchy wagon version of the 6 platform in all its CUV's. This CX will be interesting to see, but didn't Toyota already do this with the Venza?
#13
Lexus Fanatic
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#14
Lexus Champion
One of the things that drives sales of crossovers in the US market is step in height, utility and sporty handling and acceleration. If that comes at the price of some minor fuel economy penalty, than consumers will opt in for easy in/out. We sometimes forget that not everyone wants to stoop in and edge their way in/out of a nice sedan. It's just the way society has evolved.
We are larger and lazier people who demand an easy step in and a higher view of the world. Europeans deal with endless taxes and smaller countries, not to mention high fuel costs and so they love wagons and hatchbacks. It's just the way of the world. I'm not surprised Mazda is doing the butchy wagon version of the 6 platform in all its CUV's. This CX will be interesting to see, but didn't Toyota already do this with the Venza?
We are larger and lazier people who demand an easy step in and a higher view of the world. Europeans deal with endless taxes and smaller countries, not to mention high fuel costs and so they love wagons and hatchbacks. It's just the way of the world. I'm not surprised Mazda is doing the butchy wagon version of the 6 platform in all its CUV's. This CX will be interesting to see, but didn't Toyota already do this with the Venza?
He made the switch so that his ailing father-in-law could more easily get in and out of the vehicle. His father-in-law, who uses a walker, was finding it difficult to stoop down into the front passenger seat of the (small) Mazda 3.
I am hoping that Toyota replaces the Venza (aka Camry Wagon) but would not be surprised if a direct replacement does not come. While selling well in Canada, it did not sell well in the USA so was discontinued for the 2016 model year in the USA but production continued and sales in Canada (and other export markets) continued to the end of 2017.
#15
Lexus Fanatic