Why the next Mazda6 needs to take on the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and others | Opinion

Rumours of the demise of the Mazda6 may have been exaggerated… or maybe not.

There are various reports about what Mazda has planned for its flagship sedan. One side says the Japanese brand will give the current front-wheel drive-model a few tweaks but put the majority of its focus on its new range of SUVs. Other sources indicate Mazda has far bigger plans for the 6, switching it to its all-new rear-wheel-drive platform and pitching it as a genuine rival to the likes of the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4.

As far as I’m concerned the latter is the only real choice for Mazda, it would be a lot of work to create what would effectively be an all-new model, but the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion.

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Why? It may seem illogical to continue with a new 6, because ditching it altogether would make more sense. After all, it made up just 1.4 per cent of its total sales in Australia in 2021, so it wouldn’t really make a noticeable dent in Mazda’s bottom line.

But dropping the 6 would leave a gaping hole in Mazda’s plans to fully establish itself as a truly ‘semi-premium’ brand, a goal it has been working towards for the better part of a decade. Yes, Mazda has multiple new SUVs coming down the pipeline - CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 - and they will be the volume sellers, but the 6 has a crucial role to play.

It doesn’t really matter what the sales charts say, the litmus test for premium brands are the mid-size executive sedans. No matter how much brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi expand with new SUVs and smaller models, the likes of the 3 Series, C-Class and A4 are always the benchmark for how the brands are tracking.

By taking on the 3 Series and co. with an all-new, rear-wheel drive, inline six-cylinder Mazda6, the Japanese brand would be throwing down the gauntlet to the German giants. Certainly those ingredients - a rear-wheel-drive platform, new inline six engine and mild-hybrid technology - that are being developed for the new SUVs, would apply nicely to a 6-sized sedan.

But it’s not just about a philosophical battle between Mazda and its prestige competitors, it also translates directly on the sales charts. A look at the 2021 sales numbers of ‘medium’ sedans regardless of price point shows that the Toyota Camry was, by far, the best-selling model (with 13,081 sales). But it’s arguably an anomaly thanks to its ongoing strength with fleet buyers.

Looking past the Camry and the medium-sized car contest becomes a real battle between premium and mainstream brands. The second best-selling model was the 3 Series (3982) followed by the C-Class (2832), but then the Mazda6 (1491), Mercedes CLA (1299) and then Skoda Octavia (1279).

Many prestige brands have tried and failed to take on the 3 Series, C-Class and A4 - a list that includes the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Jaguar XE, Lexus IS and Volvo S60 - but the Mazda6 has the best chance to really challenge them.

The new 6 is expected to be inspired by the Vision Coupe Concept that the company revealed back in 2017. Mazda has a long history of converting each of its concepts into production cars, even if it takes a few years.

The combination of a stylish new model, built atop a more premium-style platform and with Mazda’s reputation for dependability as well as value means the new Mazda6 would have the potential to snatch sales from the ‘big three’ Germans.

And that’s just the Australian perspective, a country where Mazda has managed to establish itself as a true premium alternative. That’s not the case in every market around the world, so everything already written arguably applies even more significantly in markets like Europe and the USA, where taking on BMW, Mercedes and Audi would be more profound.

It would be a costly exercise and even if it did out-sell the 3-Series, it would still be a small fraction of total sales for Mazda, but evolving the 6 to the next level of ‘semi-premium’ quality would make a bold statement about the brand and its long-term intentions.