Say hello to the Mazda CX-20! 2026 Mazda CX-3 replacement emerges to take on Toyota Yaris Cross, Haval Jolion, Hyundai Venue and Chery Tiggo 4

A bold successor for the Mazda CX-3 is in the wings at last.

Believed to be badged the CX-20, the company’s smallest SUV and second best-selling model after the evergreen CX-5 mid-sizer is set to surface sometime before the end of next year, as a 2027 model.

To better take on Toyota Yaris Cross, Haval Jolion, Hyundai Venue and Chery Tiggo 4 in the light/small crossover/SUV end of the market in Australia, it will adopt a hybrid powertrain, and will most likely be sourced from Thailand for global consumption to help keep prices competitive.

While Mazda has yet to confirm what the CX-3’s replacement will be, images released by the Thailand Board of Investment show MMC President, Masahiro Moro, and Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, holding sketches of an as-yet unreleased small SUV hybrid.

This was at a ceremony marking a five billion Thai baht ($A240 million) upgrade of Mazda’s Auto Alliance manufacturing facilities, leading to fervent speculation that the drawings are of the next-generation CX-3.

Other details are sketchy, with some rumours suggesting that the CX-20 will be based on the Yaris Cross platform, as part of Mazda’s on-going product-sharing agreement with Toyota in other parts of the world that already see a Mazda2-badged Yaris to help meet emissions regulations.

However, an evolution of the CX-3’s architecture is more likely for the Japan and ASEAN-market focused CX-20, adopting the coming high-efficiency/lean-burn/ultra-low emissions SkyActiv-Z hybrid powertrain technology to help it meet future emissions regulations.

Mazda Australia Managing Director, Vinesh Bhindi, said that he does not intend to abandon the smaller cars and SUVs like the Mazda 2 and CX-3, but, with limited resources, it will take time to evolve these when the CX-5 replacement (due later this year) and new electric vehicles (EVs) like the Mazda6-succeeding 6e and EZ-60/CX-6e coming next year are Mazda’s priorities right now.

“(A CX-20) would be nice if it’s on offer,” he said with a smile. “But at this stage, we’re more likely to see an SUV focus – CX-5 is next, we have to build a business case for EZ-60.

“It comes down to priorities… larger SUVs and where electrified investments are being made.

“But, Mazda being a smaller-scale (manufacturer), means the R&D resources will need to be targeted where it provides the best in terms of what the consumer wants, and that the investment is justified in the returns of it.

“We'd love everything to happen at the same time, but we're very quickly told that we have to a priority list.”

With CX-3 sales up 17 per cent last year to nearly 18,500 units, it continues to dominate the Light SUV segment, far out-pacing the Suzuki Jimny 4WD (at nearly 9700 sales) and Yaris Cross (8200 units). The old-timer is even holding steady this year, despite approaching its 11^th birthday.

Clearly, then, the CX-20 would be vital for Mazda if it could build on these numbers and so cannot come soon enough.

Bhindi added that Mazda’s plan is to remain firmly mainstream with its smaller range of cars and SUVs up to CX-5 (and, in the future, CX-50), whilst playing in a more premium field with the CX-60 and up.

“Our objective wasn't only to reposition, it was to expand from where we were,” he said.

“So, when you look at our portfolio, we've got cars like Mazda 2, and CX-3 and CX-30. That's more in the volume zone… and sensitive to consumers that have limited budget. And then we have got CX-5 that's in the middle, and then we have got a step above CX-5.”

Launched way back in 2015, the original CX-3 was initially imported out of Japan, before switching to Thai sourcing in its second year. A raft of product and specification improvements arrived with a facelift in 2018, but the model has remained essentially the same over its stellar run in Australia.