With 365,135 units sold, the CX-5 was by far Mazda’s most popular product last year when total deliveries fell 13.3 percent to 1,116,107 vehicles. Although crossover sales fell 4.4 percent year-over-year, volumes still more than doubled compared to the Mazda3, which came in second with 173,619 cars. Despite being the company’s best-selling product, it probably won’t live to see a third-generation model.
When asked about the future of the CX-5, model product manager Mitsuru Wakiie had a surprising answer: “I’m not sure whether we’re going to introduce the CX-5 or not, so I can’t give you any details.” He declined to elaborate, but discontinuing the model once the current generation has run its course would be surprising given how it went number one in sales by a significant margin.
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That said, lest we forget the slightly larger and roomier CX-50 joined last year’s initial lineup. Additionally, in 2022 the CX-60 is launched with a newly developed rear-wheel drive platform with an inline six-cylinder engine and support for plug-in hybrid. Not only that, the CX-60 will spawn a version of the CX-70 for the United States later this year.
The CX-5 received improvements for the 2022 model year, meaning it should last for at least a few years. Your guess is as good as ours on what comes after that, but Mazda may be concerned about an internal clash between three similarly sized SUVs that might cannibalize sales. Keep in mind company Zoom-Zoom already sells the CX-3 and CX-30 while the CX-80 will be joined by the CX-8, so depending on the region, Mazda has more than a few SUVs available.
Elsewhere, the car has been sidelined as prospects for the next-gen Mazda6 don’t look good. The Japanese marque has ruled out the idea of using an RWD architecture with a six-cylinder engine for the new midsize sedan. Launched a decade ago, the current-generation model is still being sold in some markets in sedan and wagon variants, but its future doesn’t look bright.
Speaking of cars that are a bit long in the tooth, the Mazda2 has been on sale in its third iteration since 2014 and was recently given a facelift. That means the supermini will remain on sale for the time being in its current form and will be sold in some markets such as Europe alongside the rebranded Toyota Yaris Hybrid.
