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Mazda is set to drop its most successful nameplate — the CX-5 — but that won’t stop it taking the fight to the Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi Outlander in the highly-competitive mid-size SUV market.
And the name won’t be the only new element of the long-awaited CX-5 replacement, it will also introduce hybrid power for the first time, while still retaining petrol-only options for customers who don’t want electrification.
Speaking to CarsGuide, Mazda Australia managing director, Vinesh Bhindi, acknowledged the long-held expectation the CX-5 name would be dropped in favour of Mazda’s new double-digit name convention. As there is already a CX-50 on sale in overseas markets, seemingly the most likely candidate for the new name is CX-40 — completing the line-up with the CX-30 to CX-90 already covered. But without any official confirmation from Mazda that’s just speculation on our part.
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“ I say that [CX-5] because if you look at our naming convention, we've moved to double digits in the more recent ones,” Bhindi said. “And I used to get asked this question all the time, ‘what's it going to be called?’ So it was my commentary to say, we'll decide what it's going to be called, whether it's CX-5 or something else. But for now, I think let's just call it CX-5. But don't take that as I'm announcing that as the name. What I really should be saying is that CX-5 segment competitor, that size car, there'll be a new generation.”
Officially Bhindi would only say Mazda will “reveal the plans soon” for the CX-5 replacement, but he did let a few other details slip. Speaking about the broader plans for electrification across the Mazda range, Bhindi confirmed that the new CX-5/CX-40 will have a hybrid, specifically not a plug-in hybrid, but would also maintain petrol engines for broader market appeal.
“ All our cars will have a form of electrification by 2030,” he said. “But in this transition phase not everybody wants either a full battery EV or hybrid. Some will still say ‘internal combustion engine is my choice.’ So we have to consider all of that. Now, what we're going to offer is not something I'm confirming today, but we have to think about that because it's not all going in one direction.”
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