Mazda CX-90 News

Are incentives the missing ingredient in a shift toward 50 per cent EV sales in Australia?

What feature of your car annoys you the most? I’ll go first. Our eight-year old Skoda locks itself after about 30 seconds. Sounds good, but it isn't. It’s led to all manner of annoying moments, but locking itself while the keys were inside the car probably wins — don’t ask.

Mazda offers plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powert in its CX-70 and CX-90 large SUVs in other markets, including the United States, however they’re still not locked in for Australia.

Australia is the only country in the world that offers all four SUV offerings from Mazda’s premium Large Architecture platform.

Mazda’s flagship CX-90 SUV, and one of its newest additions to the brand’s line-up, has been quietly treated to a price-drop of thousands of dollars.

Mazda has recalled a total of 7870 examples of its Mazda CX-60 and CX-90 vehicles in petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid guises, built between 2023 and 2024, due to malfunctioning software that may impact the cars' critical driving functions.According to a recall notice published by the Australian Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, 5331 petrol and diesel mild-hybrid variants of the CX-60 and CX-90 have been affected.The notice read: “Due to a software issue, the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) and Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) may impact the hybrid battery assist function. As a result, the engine may not automatically restart after entering idle stop (i-stop).“In addition, due to a software issue with the Dash Electronic Supply Unit (Dash-ESU), when the hybrid system is powered on, multiple warning messages may display in the instrument cluster.“The engine warning light may illuminate; the instrument cluster may fail to illuminate the visual and audible seat belt warnings; and the 360° view camera functions may not operate as intended to assist the driver to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors,” the notice read.Unique to the diesel variant, the notice said: “The clutch connecting motor and engine may not engage with appropriate timing when restarting the engine during EV-driving and/or; the engine may restart immediately after the transition from engine-driving to EV driving.“In this condition, the engine RPM may not increase, and the engine may fail to restart. The engine can be restarted by pressing the ‘push start button’.”In the worst case scenario, the notice said: “A loss of EV drive mode and a loss of safety systems such as camera functions and seat belt warnings could increase the risk of an accident, causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.”The software issue impacting 2539 examples of the plug-in hybrid CX-60 is slightly different and only pertains to the vehicle’s Dash-ESU, which may also cause several warning messages to illuminate or systems to malfunction due to improper programming.The notice said: “the engine warning light may illuminate; the PHEV high-voltage battery cooling system may not operate as intended.“As a result, EV drive mode may not be available; the instrument cluster may fail to illuminate the visual and audible seat belt warnings; and the 360° view camera functions may not operate as intended to assist the driver to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors.”As with the petrol and diesel variants, in the worst case scenario, there are concerns a loss of EV drive mode and safety camera system functions and seatbelt warning malfunctioning could lead to serious injury or death.Owners of the petrol Mazda CX-60 and CX-90 built between 2023 and 2024 can check if their vehicle is affected here, while owners of diesel variants can check here.Plug-in hybrid owners can check here.All owners will be contacted by Mazda Australia imminently to arrange a time to have either vehicle’s PCM or Dash-ESU systems, or both, recalibrated free of charge.

Mazda Australia has issued a recall for 860 diesel engined variants of its CX-60 and CX-90 SUVs sold between 2023 and 2024.

Mazda Australia says it is not concerned its new large SUV strategy will confuse buyers, and believes the four new models will have their own distinct identity on dealer showroom floors.

Mazda announced its financial results this week as the brand came to the end of its fiscal year and, as far as profits go, the outlook is excellent. The Hiroshima-based brand’s record operating profit finished at ¥250.5 billion (A$2.45 billion) in the 12-month reporting period, up a whopping 76 per cent from the year prior. Much of this is down to the brand’s new premium models, including the CX-60 and CX-90, with higher prices and margins driving up Mazda’s bottom line despite the vehicles not troubling existing CX-3, CX-5 and CX-30 as best sellers in many markets.According to Mazda’s figures as reported by AutoNews, the new Large Platform models contributed ¥125.2 billion (A$1.2 billion) to the coffers – that’s 48.5 per cent. Much of this growth can be attributed to the United States, where Mazda’s gamble on new large SUVs with combustion engines and plug-in hybrid rather than battery electric tech looks to be paying off. Sales in April were at 31,125 in the US which, although 3.8 per cent down on last April, keeps Mazda ahead 8.7 per cent year-to-date. With 3694 CX-90s finding homes in the United States, the three-row SUV accounted for a solid 11.9 per cent chunk of sales. Behind stalwarts such as the CX-5 (11,149) and CX-30 (7640) but impressive for a large luxury vehicle. The story is different in Australia, even though Mazda’s local arm has put its hand up for the full quartet of Large Platform products – including CX-70 and CX-80 – the proof has not arrived in sales form yet. In April, Australians took delivery of 65 CX-90s and 230 CX-60s. We are a smaller market for Mazda with 7301 total sales for the month but the proportion of Mazda’s expensive new SUVs is far less favourable, accounting for 4.0 per cent of total sales. Mazda buyers continue to vote for the CX-5 (1629) and CX-3 (1416) with their wallets in Australia.Adding to Mazda’s global profits is a favourable exchange rate with the US, the yen having lost 14 per cent of its value against the US dollar. Despite relatively small demand in its home market (Mazda sales in Japan were down 31 per cent in March) and with no electric vehicles for sale in Australia, Mazda’s gamble on the premium platform looks to be paying off in revenue at head office.

Mazda Australia has confirmed a small pricing change to its line-up, almost a standard rise across all models, which took place as of January 1.