Mazda Australia concedes it may lose full-size, seven-seat SUV buyers on a budget once the existing CX-9 is succeeded by the more luxurious and expensive CX-90 – but the current model is safe for at least one more year.
The future of the Mazda CX-9 family SUV beyond the end of 2023 is under a cloud – after the arrival of the more expensive Mazda CX-90 later this year.
The new CX-90 revealed overnight is the second model in Mazda’s new range of rear-wheel-drive-based, six-cylinder and hybrid SUVs – which are positioned as more luxurious, and more expensive than the CX-9 in showrooms today.
Mazda has confirmed the CX-90 will replace the CX-9 in its main market of North America, however Mazda Australia says it will continue to sell the CX-9 as long as it is in production – which will continue for at least one more year.
“As long as Mazda Corporation [head office] produces CX-9, we will have CX-9,” the boss of Mazda Australia, Vinesh Bhindi, told Australian media.
“We expect for 2023, we will have both cars selling side by side. And then the future of whether that’s in our portfolio [after 2023] will be dependent on whether it still continues to be produced,” Mr Bhindi said.
Pricing for the CX-90 is yet to be confirmed, but if the price of the CX-60 is a guide – and the difference between the current CX-5 and CX-9 – the range may start in excess of $70,000 plus on-road costs, and stretch beyond $100,000.
That represents a significant increase over today’s CX-9, which is priced from $47,600 to $75,165 plus on-road costs.
Mazda’s other three-row SUV, the CX-8 – priced from $40,610 to $70,010 – is “here to stay” in Australia, according to Mr Bhindi – however it will be replaced in its main market of Japan by a smaller sibling to the CX-90, the CX-80, this year.
If Australia follows suit and CX-8 production ends for global markets, Mazda will be left with no ‘affordable’, circa-$50,000 seven-seat vehicle for family buyers – and Mr Bhindi concedes the car maker may lose sales to other manufacturers.
“Our portfolio will have options on price [for three-row SUVs], but if someone is on a very tight budget and needs seven seats, then our portfolio may not offer that,” Mr Bhindi told media.
“But CX-8 currently does offer that opportunity – CX-8 is here to stay. CX-9 is staying as long as Mazda Corporation build it. So we will have options for that [budget-conscious seven-seat] customer.”
The CX-80 – which is a long-wheelbase, seven-seat version of the five-seat CX-60, both of which are branded as ‘narrow-body’ models, compared to the ‘wide-body’ CX-90 – remains under consideration for Australia.
“We are not in a position to confirm yet [if CX-80 will be available to Australia]. Yes we are looking at it from a business case [perspective], but we are not in a position to say it will be available to our market,” Mr Bhindi said.
Despite our small size – and the presence of the slightly smaller CX-8 seven-seater alongside it in Mazda showrooms – Australia is the second-largest market globally for the CX-9.
The 6460 CX-9 SUVs reported as sold here in 2022 place Australia behind the US (34,580 sales), but ahead of Canada (4113). The CX-9 is not sold in Europe or Japan, with the latter marketing the narrower CX-5-derived CX-8 instead.
When asked if how there are enough potential sales to justify continuing production of the CX-9 with the loss of the US market – where it will be replaced by the CX-90 – Mr Bhindi told Australian media: “That’s [up to] the corporation to make a call on, but at this stage it’s being made available to us.”
Mr Bhindi told media buyers for the CX-90 are expected to primarily come from existing Mazda vehicles – who are looking for a more luxurious or larger vehicle – as well as “some” customers from luxury car makers.
“In the second half of the year, we will have CX-5, CX-60, CX-8, CX-9 and CX-90. So pricing wise, we will cover a wide range to fit everybody’s budget. No if that means a customer comes in [for] a CX-9 but prefers a 90, or comes in on a 90 and prefers a CX-9, that’s what we’ve got to work out to say, here’s [how many we expect to sell],” Mr Bhindi told media.
The post Mazda CX-9 to live on alongside new CX-90 in Australia, for now appeared first on Drive.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar