New Mazda CX-5's hidden cost cutting measures: 'We put money where the customer is going to see it' said Mazda senior exec as family SUV ‘optimised’ to trim costs in global fight with 2026 Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan X-Trail and BYD Sealion 7 

‘Endaka’ is the Japanese term for an expensive yen, and with the country’s currency hovering near 20-year lows in key financial markets it’s returned to common usage across Japan’s export industries, including automotive manufacturing.

Throw-in high import tariffs in the United States as well as aggressively priced and specified rivals from China and it’s no surprise some Japanese car brands are working to ‘fine-tune’ the specification and production process for some of their key models.

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Speaking with Automotive News, Mazda Global CFO (and former CEO of Mazda North American Operations) Jeff Guyton cited a change “customers won’t see, to protect profit margins” on its updated CX-5 SUV.

The example relates to the leather on Mazda’s current steering wheels being cut precisely and sewn on a curve so the stitching lines up horizontally.

Mazda said it found people don’t value that detail finishing more than the cheaper angled stitching used by rivals, so the discipline has been abandoned in the new CX-5 to lower costs.

“That’s great attention to detail from Mazda, but when we look at it, our customers are not really valuing that approach more than our competitors, but it costs us more money.”

“Our competitors have an angled appearance to the stitches but the same leather,” he said.

And Guyton confirmed it’s one of “many, many, many” unseen cost cuts in the new CX-5.

“Simply, we put money where the customer is going to see it, and we’ve tried to find big cost efficiencies where the customer doesn’t value it as much or won’t see it,” he said.

It’s worth noting Mazda has form in this department.

Through the 1990s a volatile yen reached record highs and lows, culminating in the Asian Financial Crisis late in the decade.

And after arriving in the early ‘90s, Mazda’s diminutive 121 sedan was a prime endaka victim.

Affectionately referred to as the ‘bubble’ or ‘jellybean’ Mazda it started life in Australia as a 1.3-litre offered with a standard five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed automatic transmission.

But despite the fact a 1.5-litre option joined it a few years later, cost-focused changes began to emerge as the decade progressed. 

No clear coat on the paint around the boot aperture, unpainted grey plastic bumpers and side mirrors instead of color-keyed ones and deletion of plastic wheel covers leaving the 13-inch steel wheels exposed on lower grades.

Tachometers were removed from base models, sound-deadening material was reduced and interior trim was changed to a cheaper fabric. Base models became manual-only and power steering was made optional.

Line up the first and last examples of that DB-Series Mazda 121 and the differences would be stark. 

So, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the new CX-5 as Mazda looks to its world-wide top-selling model to help it return to profitability after recording a loss across the first nine months of the Japanese financial year (April to March).