In the documents related to the financial results for fiscal 2023, Mazda announced some of its new vehicle plans.
The first is Mazda CX-5, after the release of CX-50, the positioning of the two actually has a lot of overlap, in the eyes of many industry insiders, CX-50 is a replacement model of CX-5, CX-5 can not avoid the fate of retirement, but this is not the case.
Mazda made it clear in the document that the CX-5 will be replaced, and the third-generation CX-5 will use Mazda's self-developed hybrid system, but the document does not mention whether this is a gasoline-electric hybrid system or a plug-in hybrid system, but this is also a clear CX-5 and CX-50 will coexist for a long time.
Mazda's decision is not difficult to understand, the CX-5 sold 153808 units in North America last year, almost 3.5 times that of the CX-50, so it is necessary for Mazda to keep the CX-5, and if the CX-5 is retired, the CX-50 may not be able to fully inherit the market gap left by the CX-5.
It is worth mentioning that the CX-50 is currently available in a hybrid version, using a gasoline-electric hybrid system from Toyota, but it is only sold in the Chinese market, and Mazda said that the CX-50 hybrid version will be sold in other markets in the second half of this year, including the North American market, which should be able to stimulate CX-50 sales.
Foreign media believe that Mazda's SUV product line today can be said to be very crowded, in addition to CX-5, CX-50, there are CX-70 and CX-90 based on the rear-wheel drive platform, and CX-60 and CX-80 in the European market, for Mazda R & D costs are not low, if the actual car performance can not meet expectations, some of these models will inevitably be abandoned.
In the document, Mazda also mentioned the Mazda EZ-6, which is also an exclusive model for the Chinese market, jointly developed by Changan and Mazda, based on the Changan EPA hybrid platform, and the dark blue SL03 has a certain kinship, in addition to the pure electric version, there is also an extended range version to choose from. Foreign media believe that it is in a sense a new energy version of the Mazda6, but it has no chance of overseas markets.
Mazda is indeed in the process of transformation in the new energy field, but its own dedicated pure electric platform will not be officially released until 2027, and from 2028 to 2030, Mazda's models will successively transition to pure electric platforms, which is a more radical plan.