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With 365,135 units sold, the CX-5 was by far Mazda’s most popular product last year when total deliveries went down by 13.3 percent to 1,116,107 vehicles. Even though sales of the crossover declined by 4.4 percent year over year, the volume it generated was still more than double compared to the Mazda3, which came in second at 173,619 cars. Despite being the company’s best-selling product, it might not live to see a third-generation model.
When asked about what the future has in tow for the CX-5, the model’s product manager Mitsuru Wakiie had a surprising answer: “I’m not sure whether we are going to introduce a CX-5 or not, so I can’t give you any details.” He declined to elaborate, but discontinuing the model after the current generation runs its course would be a surprise seeing as how it’s number one in sales by a significant margin.
That being said, lest we forget the slightly larger and more spacious CX-50 joined the lineup at the beginning of last year. In addition, 2022 saw the unveiling of a CX-60 riding on a newly developed rear-wheel-drive platform with inline-six engines and support for plug-in hybrids. Not only that, but the CX-60 will spawn a CX-70 version for the United States later this year.
The CX-5 received a nip and tuck for the 2022 model year, which implies it’s going to stick around for at least a couple of years. Your guess is as good as ours about what will happen after that, but Mazda could be concerned about an internal clash between three similarly sized SUVs that might cannibalize sales. Let’s keep in mind the Zoom-Zoom company already sells the CX-3 and CX-30 while a CX-80 will join the CX-8, so depending on the region, Mazda has more than a few SUVs available.
Elsewhere, cars have been put on the back burner since the prospects of a next-gen Mazda6 are not looking great. The Japanese marque has already ruled out the idea of using its RWD architecture with six-cylinder engines for an all-new midsize sedan. Launched a decade ago, the current-gen model is still being sold in some markets in both sedan and wagon flavors but its future doesn’t look bright.
Speaking of cars that are getting a bit long in the tooth, the Mazda2 has been on sale in its third iteration since 2014 and was recently given a facelift. It means the supermini will remain on sale for a while in its current form and will be sold in some markets such as Europe alongside a rebadged Toyota Yaris Hybrid.
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