Dongying BMW, self-deprecating martial arts

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Introduction

The shelving of the new generation of Mazda 6 makes Mazda no longer Mazda.

Author 丨 Yang Jing

Responsible editor 丨 Yang Jing

Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin

In the 1980s, Japanese luxury brands Lexus, Acura and Infiniti were frantically harvesting orders in the North American market. Another Japanese brand, Amati, was also popular, so the brand quickly launched the Amati 1000 model, which was benchmarked with Lexus LS, equipped with a 4.0L W12 engine and a front-facing rear-drive, in an attempt to compete.

But the good times didn't last long, because of working and financial problems, the Amati brand was stillborn, and this brand was Mazda's first luxury sub-brand. However, Mazda's luxury dream did not end, and Mazda in Japan once again launched the luxury brand Eunos, but unfortunately, this brand was also discontinued for 7 years due to poor sales.

Some time ago, Jeremy Thomson, head of Mazda's UK region, said: "Mazda's goal is to become a luxury brand car company. At the same time, he made it clear that he did not want to become the next BBA, but wanted to become a luxury car brand with an independent personality like Lexus, which is also Japanese.

In fact, Mazda's expression is not out of thin air, as early as 2019 Mazda revealed that it will develop a new longitudinal engine, a rear-drive platform and a new in-line six-cylinder engine technology, which can push the brand to the high-end market. It can be seen that Mazda's ambition to become a high-end brand is not a day or two.

Limitations of niche car companies

If there's one car brand that's not known for its high sales, it's Mazda. It's a relatively small, independent automaker, but its products are still competitively competitive with competitors from more well-funded corporate giants such as Toyota, Volkswagen and GM.

However, the dream of luxury hidden in the heart of the Mazda brand has never been extinguished. If you don't become a BBA, then fight against the BBA. Mazda's previously highly anticipated next step is to allow Mazda to compete with companies like BMW. After all, Mazda, also known as "Toei BMW", tried to launch a series of inline six-power models based on rear-wheel drive.

The new, high-end-end Mazda 6 will compete with models like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the high end, rather than with existing competitors such as the Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat.

In Mazda's planning, the new Mazda 6 will be based on rear-wheel drive and upgraded from the current inline four-cylinder engine to the inline six-cylinder engine. The new engine will use a 48-volt hybrid system that will produce nearly 350 horsepower. From the new Mazda 6 that competes with the 3 Series, to the new crossover for the X3/X4/X5 series.

Two years ago, Mazda said it wanted to develop a new large car architecture and its new powertrain. Earlier this year, the Mazda CX-60 was showcased alongside the new SkyActiv scalable architecture, and with the launch of the CX-60, many believe the brand is poised to fully attack the high-end market with upcoming rear-wheel-drive models and a mature performance division.

But a report from the United Kingdom said that given the rapid development of the auto industry to electric talk, and the shrinking market share of traditional cars every year, the next generation of Mazda 6 will no longer use this novel rear-wheel drive platform, and the chances of reviving the Mazdaspeed family seem very slim.

At the very least, that's how the report shows it. Benchmarking the bmw 3 series of the new generation Mazda 6 may be delayed, or at least shelved. The reason is that SUVs and crossovers are gradually replacing cars on the market, which has forced Mazda to revise its product lineup. That is, the Japanese company abandoned the development of the fourth-generation model, the Mazda 6 or discontinued production.

That's what Joachim Kunz, Mazda's head of European engineering and development, said: "It would be a very good thing if the mazda 6's successor model had a rear-drive platform and a six-cylinder engine. But at this time, selling SUVs is the most important. The current trend of SUV growth continues, especially for Mazda, whose SUVs are selling well. ”

According to Autocar's latest report, the successor model of the third-generation 6, which was discontinued at the end of last year, has been shelved, at least in Europe, in part due to a severe drop in sedan sales compared to SUVs. This scenario could be replicated in North America, where sales remain relatively strong, and the discontinuation of the Mazda-6 also led to the launch of Mazda's new turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine on hold.

Once upon a time, Mazda would not launch major new cars until 2022 in order to save money. Today, Mazda refuses to renew the Mazda 6 replacement model and 6-cylinder turbocharged engine due to high SUV sales. For a small car brand, money is the lifeblood of survival. Mazda's fuel vehicle technology, on the other hand, is self-deprecating in the process of moving forward.

Mazda also bowed to profits

The strategic abandonment of the Mazda 6 partly explains why Mazda chose to officially showcase the new platform and six-cylinder engine, which will come in the form of the new CX-70 and CX-90 SUVs, both of which should be available in 2023. However, both cars only offer all-wheel drive, which is not the same as what people expect from a sporty car.

Alistair Doak, Mazda Australia's director of marketing, further emphasised that "the traditional sedan market is a very small market, and when we launched the first generation of Mazda in 2001, at some point in its life, the Mazda 6 was producing 1600 units per month, and now, it is 200 units per month.

"So, where's the priority?" Brands must prioritize investment in production facilities and, more importantly, in engineers. Mazda, which focuses on the culture of engineers, must move the idea of new products from CAD drawing to exhibition vehicles. And it all takes effort, time and resources... You have to spend your money where you can get the best business returns. ”

In the United States, for example, the Mazda CX-5 will sell 9 times more than the Mazda 6 in 2020. That's why in the U.S. market, the Mazda 6 stopped selling last fall. In Europe, Asia and Australia, the Mazda-6 is still on sale, but its current generation will stay on the assembly line for another year or two before it will be discontinued.

Mazda is currently rolling out a lineup of high-end SUVs based on its new large product group architecture, starting with the recently released CX-60 midsize SUV and continuing with a range of SUVs, the CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90.

Mazda found a powerful formula for making cars, using the Kodo Soul Design Language to make new products look stylish and advanced, and making driving fun with the SKYACTIV Chuang chi blue sky engine and 6AT automatic transmission. This formula is so effective that Mazda has basically been making more or less identical cars, such as the CX-30, CX-5, CX-9, different sizes adapted to different market segments.

However, it is important to note that, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, Mazda has been experimenting with new designs and technologies, trying to find its own unique brand DNA. The SUV model is only a way for the Mazda brand to get a return on investment, and with the stranding of the new generation of Mazda 6, it also means that the RX-9, which was supposed to replace the RX-8, is coming to an end, and Mazda's brand belief is collapsing step by step.

In the future, the MX-5 Miata is likely to be the last car with a fuel engine and manual transmission sold by the Mazda brand in the future, and new products such as the CX-50 and the Mazda 3 AWD hatchback with turbocharged engines can only prove that Mazda has a good car that can be played, and cannot support the charm of the Mazda brand.

In addition to the brand gene, for now, Mazda in its largest market in North America sells the best compact SUVs such as the CX-5, in the Chinese auto market, Mazda has been criticized by consumers for overpricing, so sales are mediocre. Apparently, it doesn't look like any luxury brand yet.

Of course, Mazda's temper has always been arrogant. However, the market will not be a car company to master some high-end technology and become a luxury brand, the support of luxury brands comes from the brand history, connotation, service, product strength and other aspects of differentiation. Mazda may not lack good cars, but it is more like self-deprecation to become a luxury brand.

| Yang Jing |

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