Mazda CX-5 News

Australia’s top-selling car and the top-selling brands for 2024 have been revealed and it’s been yet another record year of sales.Last year, Australians bought 1,237,287 new vehicles, which represented a modest 1.7 per cent upswing compared with 2023 sales. It was enough to make it the biggest year of sales in Australian history.Utes and SUVs continued to dominate with just one passenger car - the Toyota Corolla - managing to remain in the top 10 best-selling models list.Almost 700,000 SUVs were sold in the calendar year compared with 270,000 light-commercial vehicles and just over 203,000 passenger cars (hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, sports cars and people movers).The top-selling model for 2024 was the Ford Ranger, repeating its 2023 win, despite a slight dip in sales to 62,593 (-1.2%).The Toyota RAV4 had its best sales year and came pretty close to toppling the Ranger, but had to settle for a still-impressive second place with 58,718 units, closely followed by its HiLux stablemate on 53,499.The Isuzu D-Max was the only other ute in the top 10, landing in fourth place with 30,194, and rounding out the top-five models was the Mitsubishi Outlander.Making up the rest of the top-10 models were Ford’s Everest, the Corolla, Mazda CX-5, MG ZS and the Kia Sportage. Check the tables below for all the figures.Toyota maintained its dominance in the industry, leading the charge with 241,296 sales, which is 12.1 per cent ahead of last year’s total.As expected, Ford leapfrogged Mazda to nab second place with a healthy 100,170 units, helped mostly by those solid Ranger and Everest numbers.Mazda dipped a little in 2024 (95,987) but remained well ahead of fourth-placed Kia on 81,787, while Mitsubishi (74,547) capped off the top-five brands.Hyundai (71,664) only just missed out on a top-five position, trailing Mitsubishi by 2883 units.MG also took a sales tumble but still stayed firm with 50,592 (-13.3%) for seventh place, while Isuzu continued to punch above its weight in eighth spot, recording 48,172 sales with just two models on sale.Nissan managed to make some gains in 2024, landing in ninth place with 45,284, and China’s GWM is now firmly a top-10 player having grabbed tenth spot with 42,782.The Chinese giant kept Subaru and Tesla out of the top list, with Subaru collecting 40,604 sales and Tesla sliding by 17 per cent to 38,347.The Model Y also just missed out on a top-10 spot for model sales, with 21,253 finding homes, a drop of 26 per cent.Despite the bumper sales year, the automotive industry’s peak body is forecasting a gloomy outlook and taking a swipe at the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Emissions Standards that kicked in on January 1.“While overall consumer preferences remain clear with SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles continuing to dominate the market and especially the top ten sales, many vehicles in these segments are either difficult or expensive to decarbonise. This will prove to be a significant challenge in meeting the extremely ambitious targets of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) which began on 1 January 2025,” Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber said in a media release.“The industry is responding to NVES by increasing the range of zero and low emission vehicles on offer. However, a continuation of current customer buying preferences will inevitably lead to the accrual of substantial penalties under the Government’s new scheme, which will create price inflation within the new vehicle market.”

The Toyota RAV4 hybrid topped sales charts again in November, but it isn’t likely to take the number one spot from the Ford Ranger this year.

Mazda is offering thousands of dollars worth of savings on its popular CX-5 range with a national plate clearance offer.

Mazda will replace its best-selling CX-5 mid-size SUV, but it won’t happen overnight.

The next-generation, hybrid-powered Mazda CX-5 won't be joining the Mazda Premium push.Mazda has vowed its most popular SUV will remain accessible to the masses and not follow the CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 upmarket.That's the word from Australia CEO Vinesh Bhindi, who says the CX-5 would have to slot below the new CX-60 Pure, which would likely mean a price in the $40-$50k bracket.Having already confirmed the CX-5 will feature a game-changing in-house hybrid powertrain that will push the model closer to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid than ever before, the brand has also confirmed that its most popular SUV will remain within reach of mainstream buyers.Asked whether the brand is committed to the new CX-5 remaining an accessible product that will sit below the CX-5, Mr Bhindi replied: "Absolutely".As to where it will be priced, we look to the incoming CX-60 Pure for guidance. A reminder that the CX-80 (near-enough a three-row version of the 60) starts at $54,950, before on-road costs.Mazda says the CX-60 Pure, a five-seat offering, will be below that."You've got to look at the 80 offering, and 60 will be in line with that, given it's a smaller product with two rows. So 60 will fit in under the 80 pricing and you can only speculate what that may be in terms of pricing," Mr Bhindi says.So if we posit that the CX-60 Pure would need to start close to $50k, then that would suggest the CX-5 will at least drop into the $40k range.The downside? Don't expect it to be the same price as the current-gen vehicle. Not only has the CX-5 been in market for some time, but the addition of a high-tech hybrid powertrain, combined with what the brand calls a "step up" in materials and tech, will surely lift the sticker prices range-wide."The next CX5, whatever it may be called, it'll be a step up," Mr Bhindi says.Current drive-away offers on the current CX-5 see the model span $37,990 for the entry-level Maxx to $52,265 for the range-topping Akera.The new follows confirmation of Mazda's hybrid plan for its CX-5, with the company not borrowing from Toyota and instead developing its own solution in house."That segment is massive for Australians, and you can see the demand in that segment. We have a next generation CX-5 already underway," Mr Bhindi says.In fact, Mazda's global CEO Mazda Masahiro Moro promises the CX-5's hybrid will focus on driving dynamics to give it a point of difference to the current hybrid rivals, such as the Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail and Haval H6.“We have been using Toyota’s hybrid system, and that’s an excellent system,” Moro said in an earnings call. “So to have a unique difference is the basic concept that we have. In our case, in the engine and the electric motor balance, we will mainly focus on a high-efficiency engine.”“Customers can can enjoy excellent driving dynamic performance and also at the same time good environmental performance. This hybrid system pursues the joy of driving.”

Mazda has announced it will release a new low-emissions, four cylinder internal combustion engine in 2027.

In Europe, you’ll find a re-faced Toyota Yaris posing as the Mazda2, while in the United States, Mazda’s rugged mid-size SUV uses the same powertrain as its biggest rival: the Toyota RAV4. 

The next-generation Mazda CX-5 is coming Down Under.

interested in Australia's most popular new vehicles? Here is a list ranking sales from from 1-100 between January 1 and June 30, 2024.

We know the next-gen Mazda CX-5 is coming. What it will be called, its powertrain offering and underpinnings remain a mystery, though.