No, they're not axing the Mazda CX-3

The release of the new Mazda CX-30 2020 compact SUV has seen us field plenty of questions about the future of the Mazda CX-3.

To clarify some doubt over whether the smallest Mazda SUV will continue to be sold, the answer is a solid ‘yes!’. In much the same way as the Hyundai Venue and Kona co-exist, the CX-3 and CX-30 will line up alongside one another - and there are no plans for that to change.

In fact, Mazda Australia still reckons more people will buy the existing (and more compromised, and not as high-tech or up-to-date) CX-3 over the CX-30. It is, after all, more compact, and easier on the wallet. 

At the launch event for the new CX-30, Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak, was asked about any plans to reposition the CX-3 line-up - whether the brand needed to cull some models or change the line-up.

“No, not really,” said Mr Doak.

“CX-3 has been incredibly popular, and it will continue to be,” he said of the small SUV, which has a price range from $22,710 up to $40,350. That’s well and truly in the ballpark of the new CX-30 ($29,990 to $43,490) and even the bigger CX-5 ($30,880 to $51,130).

“We see there’s enough demand [to keep CX-3 as it is],” said Mr Doak.

“Even VFACTs is now segmenting Light SUV, and CX-3 will now be in Light, while CX-30 will be in Small SUV. While that is an industry thing that we will pore over, even though customers won’t, it also just shows there’s a natural split between the models as well.

“It’s becoming more and more apparent, and there will be more and more entrants into that Small and Light SUV segment, and there have been a couple of entrants recently,” said Mr Doak.

And the segment is going to get even busier. We’ll see new models such as the Skoda Kamiq, VW T-Roc, VW T-Cross, new Nissan Juke, Ford’s new Puma, and the Kia Stonic as well. And that’s all by the end of 2020.

Mazda Australia reckons that there will be a knock-on effect for CX-3 sales - but more so because of the introduction of CX-30, rather than new competitors. In 2019, Mazda sold a huge 14,813 examples of the CX-3, and the company expects that it will sell about 800 examples of the CX-30 per month (or, if the maths is right, 9600 a year).

However, there could be a knock-on effect for CX-3 sales, admitted Mr Doak.

“Our research suggested we’d see more [cannibalisation] from CX-3 [than CX-5]. And we’re not going to tell you exactly those numbers

“Is it going to fall significantly? No, it’s not,” he said.

“We think there’s enough room in the SUV sales in Australia, and there’s enough clear differentiation between the CX-3, CX-30 and the CX-5, they all have a very clear place in our range, and a very clear buyer as well,” said Mr Doak.