Mazda CX-5 News

‘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.For example, Mazda has made no bones about the fact it’s selectively trimming materials and altering manufacturing techniques to lower per-car costs.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).

Many of the regular family SUV favourites have made the best-sellers list for 2025, at a time when more brands are joining the battle for sales. Hybrids have a significantly increased presence on the list, while traditional internal combustion options remain prevalent as well.These are the top five best-selling family cars heading into 2026. The Toyota RAV4 was the second-best selling car overall in 2025 and tops the family SUV list with nearly 52,000 sales, despite a more than 10 per cent drop year-on-year as a new-generation looms.With a starting price of $45,990, before on-road costs, the outgoing RAV4 is available exclusively as a hybrid, which starts from just under $60,000. The hybrid consists of a four-cylinder 2.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and single electric motor, which produce a combined 143kW. The incoming new-generation RAV4 will remain hybrid only, even introducing a long-awaited plug-in hybrid.Ford’s Everest large SUV is next on this list with more than 26,000 sales in 2025, and a starting price of $59,490, before on-road costs. Based on the best-selling Ranger, the Everest currently features four-cylinder 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel and six-cylinder 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine choices. The 2.0-litre Everest produces 154kW and 500Nm, while the 3.0-litre has 184kW and 600Nm. The Everest range underwent a shake-up last year, with several variants being cut, and the announcement of the 2.0-litre twin-turbo engine will be phased out. Toyota makes another appearance in the list in third position, with its Prado, selling marginally less than the Ford Everest. The Prado is significantly bigger than the RAV4, and is only available with a four-cylinder 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, producing 150kW and 500Nm. It remains one of only a few Toyota models, including the full-on four-wheel drive LandCruiser 300 Series, which do not yet have a hybrid set-up available. The Prado starts from $72,500 before on-road costs, rising to just under $100,000 for the top-spec model. The Hyundai Kona small SUV managed more than 22,000 sales in 2025, with its cheapest petrol variant starting from $32,950, before on-roads ranging up to $71,000 for the top-spec EV. The Kona currently comes with diverse petrol, hybrid and electric powertrains, with petrol and hybrid units vastly outnumbering electric in sales.The 2.0-litre petrol engine produces 110kW and 180Nm, while the 1.6-litre petrol hybrid produces a combined 104kW/265Nm.There are two electric versions of the Kona, producing 99kW/255Nm and 150kW/255Nm.The range also features a sporty 1.6-litre petrol turbo all-wheel drive variant, with 146kW and 265Nm.The Mazda CX-5 rounds out the top five, managing only a few less units than the Kona. The base CX-5 starts from $36,740, before on-roads, and comes with a 2.0-litre petrol engine, producing 115kW and 200Nm. There is also a 2.5-litre petrol engine, which produces 140kW/252Nm or an all-wheel drive only turbocharged version producing 170kW/420Nm, with the most expensive variant priced at $55,650. All variants have a six-speed traditional automatic transmission.Australia will get a long-awaited new-generation CX-5 in the middle of this year. A hybrid version of this new version will finally debut as far out as 2027.

Mazda has pushed back its in-house EV plans to 2029 as it focuses development of its incoming in-house hybrid drivetrain, according to a new report.Mazda had planned to launch its next-generation Japanese-developed electric car in 2027, but had pushed back to 2028 and now 2029. According to industry source Automotive News this is because hybrid demand is booming in the US, while electric vehicle incentives are being removed.The outlet quoted Mazda’s CEO Masahiro Moro as saying the brand expects EV sales now to only account for 25 per cent or less of its global sales due to changing market forces, particularly in the US.This revises Mazda’s original expectations of 25 - 40 per cent of global volume to be fully electric by 2030.However, while a significant portion of the brand's sales remain in North America and Japan, a significant portion remains in markets like Europe and Australia. Australia is the third largest market by volume for Mazda globally, after the US and Japan, forcing the brand to adapt to our conditions.This means sourcing more low emissions vehicles in the interim to comply with our Euro-inspired New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). This recently-introduced regulation tightens the vice on carbon emissions based on manufacturer’s vehicle sales, under threat of fines for every unit sold which pushes them over a pre-defined CO2 limit.Mazda is one of the most exposed brands in Australia currently. It offers only a limited array of hybrid models, with the majority of its sales still being pure combustion vehicles, like the ever-popular CX-5.A next-generation CX-5 is due, although it will continue on with a petrol engine until the hybrid variant launches in 2027. Unlike the hybrid Mazda CX-50 available in America, which borrows its hybrid tech from Toyota, the new CX-5 will use an in-house Mazda-developed hybrid system the brand calls SkyActiv-Z.In the interim, Mazda has confirmed it will sell the China-built fully electric 6e sedan and CX-6e, both are platform-shares with Changan’s Deepal brand. The brand has earmarked even more models to potentially spawn from this tie-up.Potentially this could include a Mazda take on Deepal’s S09 over-five-meter-long large SUV, or a small SUV based on the more compact S05, which would sit beneath the CX-6e to compete with the likes of MG’s S5.In another potential blow to Mazda in Australia, there are also fresh reports out of Japan that its two entry-level models, the Mazda 2 and CX-3, will cease production over the course of 2026.While these two cars are the oldest models in Mazda’s line-up, they continue to sell well in Australia thanks to regular updates. The removal of these accessible models plus the delay on a hybrid CX-5 could see Mazda tumble down the sales charts in 2026, making the roll-out of its Chinese-built models ever more important. However, Japanese media are also reporting a small car successor is due based on the Vision-X compact car shown at Tokyo Motor Show in 2025. The model will reportedly be built in Thailand as part of a push by Mazda to make the country a new export hub. Again, if this model does come to Australia, it could be as far out as 2028, making Mazda’s short term outlook for 2026 and 2027 more challenging.Mazda has told CarsGuide in 2024 its order of priorities are the new CX-5, its hybrid version, and then “small architecture cars.”Stay tuned for more on Mazda’s plans for 2026 as it faces a rapidly changing new car market. In particular it will need to fend off an aggressive new model strategy from an ambitious BYD, which is plotting a top-three market position by the end of the year.

Mazda has revealed pricing and specifications for its incoming next-generation CX-5 for the North American market.The new car arrives in America with only the carryover 2.5-litre non-turbo engine option (as is also the plan in Australia), and is priced at $29,990 (AU$44,767).Currently the entry-level version of the outgoing CX-5 in Australia is a 2.0-litre front-wheel drive variant, priced at $36,740, making the straight-converted price significantly higher.For the US market, the CX-5 is now all-wheel drive only and features a host of new features and upgrades, including a connected multimedia suite, a significantly larger cabin and boot space, increased sound deadening, improved safety, torque vectoring systems and revised suspension.It also gets new cabin technology throughout, with a 12.9-inch multimedia touchscreen and 10.25-inch digital dash, which is even on the entry-level S model.On higher end variants expect larger wheels and improved interior trims, as well as the inclusion of wireless phone connectivity and a better speaker system. The top-spec Premium Plus grade for the US market gets the full array of safety equipment and a larger 15.6-inch multimedia screen. It also scores the ‘Driver Personalisation System’ (memory functions for all the adjustable features) from the larger CX-90.It is unclear at this stage whether Mazda will switch the Australian-delivered CX-5 to all-wheel drive only, or whether cars delivered here will continue to be available in front-wheel drive, which is a factor likely to drastically affect the final price.The larger CX-60, which sits on Mazda’s more premium platform, is now available with an entry-level variant using the same 2.5-litre non-turbo engine starting from $44,240, lending evidence to the idea the new-generation CX-5 needs to be more affordable in Australia.The hybrid version, which will debut a new hybrid system for Mazda dubbed SkyActiv-Z, is not due until 2027, as the brand is taking its time to imbue it with its signature ‘zoom-zoom’ driving characteristics.The brand has told CarsGuide in the past that the new system will achieve better driving dynamics than Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy system, which it uses in the US-only CX-50 that will live alongside the new CX-5 in that market.Meanwhile the brand has also confirmed it will sell the Chinese-built CX-6e in Australia as an electric alternative to the CX-5, which will give customers the choice of petrol, hybrid, and electric options.Mazda’s refreshed range will also be entering some of the most hotly contested market segments in Australia.The CX-5 will need to face-off against the new-generation Toyota RAV4, which is available as both a plugless and plug-in hybrid, and new-generation Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage SUVs with increased hybrid options are also expected to break cover in 2026. Not to mention the array of new rivals from China vying for a slice of the outgoing car’s popularity.The new-generation CX-5 is due in Australia in the middle 2026, stay tuned for more information including local pricing and specification details later in the year.

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