MORE SUVs Mazda with a two-digit suffix is coming along with existing single-digit offerings, in addition to the new CX-60 SUV five-seat SUV that costs significantly more than the similarly sized CX-5 and SUV model has only two digits. -Launched the large SUV CX-90 with a similar position above the CX-9,
Among these are two other SUVs under consideration for the Australian market – the CX-70 and CX-80 – the former being considered the best five-seat version of the CX-90 with its curvaceous roofline and a shorter body. while the CX-80 will be a stretched 7-seat version of the CX-6, similar to the relationship between the CX-5 and CX-8.
Confused yet?
According to Mazda Australia chief executive Vinesh Bhindi, the proliferation of overlapping models with identical trunk badges is not a problem in the showroom.
“We can worry about the nameplate but in our experience consumers say ‘the more options you give me the better, because then I can tailor it to my needs. my very specific or the prices’,” he said.
Mr. Bhindi added that the naming strategy for the new-generation models is not a new discussion, suggesting that the question was raised when the CX-30 was launched on the CX-3 in early 2020.
“In the next few years, consumers know exactly what they want,” Mr. Bhindi said.
“So when they go to a dealership, they have all the options. They’ve either decided or researched which car is the right choice for them, or they’ve narrowed it down to two or three.
“Then they touch it, feel it, sit in it – then they 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 were in a unique position of being a big market to buy both the CX-60 and the CX-90… the US doesn’t have the CX-60, they have the CX-50,” he said.
The CX-50 is an adventure-focused model currently built and sold only in North America, which doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon.
Mr Doak pointed out that the CX-70 and CX-80 are yet to be confirmed for the Australian market, but he suggested the company just need to find out if it can fit all models under the umbrella. Mazda’s or not.
“We haven’t confirmed it yet but obviously we are interested and we are working to get there,” he said.
“The proposition is, ‘can we make it work?’. Mazda Corporation is happy that we’re treated as a marketplace to buy those cars if we want, so it’s up to us to decide whether or not to get them. No one forced us to do it.”
Mr. Bhindi suggested that dealers are taking advantage of the opportunity to have a wide range of Mazda vehicles to offer to customers and that there will be no division in the showroom between existing, older and older models. carefully with these new two-digit derivatives. .
“Showroom presence for our portfolio – no difference. Customers can ride in a Mazda 2 or CX-90 and they get the same level of experience,” he said.
“Over the years and decades, they have been very comfortable with a wide range of products, because it really gives them the opportunity to tailor the solution to the needs of the customer, rather than saying ‘no, I don’t have the stuff for you, at that size, at that price or that configuration,’. Agents are very comfortable.
“Digital tools also help educate customers, but also make it easier for sales teams to demonstrate and showcase vehicles.”
Mazda’s CX-90 program chief engineer, Mitsuru Wakiie, has essentially confirmed a direct relationship between the large three-row CX-90 and the less intimidating (and undisclosed) CX-70. revealed).
“Your assumption might not be so wrong, that’s all I can say,” he said.
Likewise, just as the CX-8 is a three-row version of the five-seat CX-5, the CX-80 will offer a seven-seat upgrade route from the CX-60 without the need for the top-of-the-line CX-90. .
Where the new model strategy departs from the current CX-5 model remains a story to be told, but Mr Bhindi said the brand has confirmed a new generation version of the CX-5 will happen, but Mr. also implies that it may not hold. its nameplate.
“I think we have confirmed that the CX-5 will continue and there will be future generations. Whether it’s called that or not, that’s not what I’m talking about,” he said.
Mr. Bhindi said that as the CX-5 continues to be sold with and under the upcoming CX-60, there will also be two full-size SUVs sold together, the CX-9 and CX-90, although he hopes Hopefully both will have their own advantages. separate buyer groups.
“Regarding the CX-9, we don’t confirm anything about the future, but at least for the rest of the year we will launch the CX-90 and the CX-9 will be available,” he said.
“I do not make any guarantees that they will co-exist forever. But it will give us a chance to get the CX-90 established and the CX-60 established as well.
“At some point, we will also make a decision as to whether the CX-70 and CX-90 are right and appropriate for our market. And maybe that’s when we’ll make some decisions and announcements at that point.”
The large SUV Mazda CX-90 will become the most expensive model of this brand in Australia. It will sit on top of the existing CX-9, with a choice of six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines available from the second half of 2023, ahead of a plug-in hybrid model due or beyond 2024.
The smaller CX-60 model family – also with a choice of petrol and diesel six-cylinder engines, and a PHEV model – will be available around mid-2023, with prices starting at $59,800.
