Redesigned from the ground up in 2012, the Mazda6 is dead in the U.S. for the 2022 model year. The automaker has also pulled the plug on the CX-3 sport utility vehicle without explaining why it’s being phased out.
“Consumer interests continue to evolve,” explains Mazda in a press release devoid of actual details, and no direct replacements have been confirmed for either nameplate. Looking at the bigger picture, it’s easy to understand why the Mazda6 and the CX-3 had to go with a whimper rather than a bang.
Sales for the mid-sized sedan have contracted from a high point of 57,898 units in 2015 to 16,204 units last year, which is very bad for a series-production vehicle from a non-premium brand. You would expect the CX-3 to sell better because it’s a crossover, but curiously enough, this fellow has struggled to move 8,335 examples last year and 18,557 units in 2016.
Refreshed twice in the United States, the CX-3 has been indirectly sabotaged by none other than Mazda with the introduction of the CX-30. Not only does it offer more space for $1,260 extra, but the CX-30 looks cooler and it’s better suited for highway driving as well thanks to a 2.5-liter SkyActiv-G engine with 186 horsepower instead of 2.0 liters and 148 horsepower for the CX-3.
As for the Mazda6, the writing was on the wall since 2018, the year when Ford announced that it’s discontinuing traditional cars in favor of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. Some people were skeptical of the Ford Motor Company’s decision, but hindsight is 20/20 and the Blue Oval was right. This is truck country, but more than 50 percent of U.S. new-vehicle sales are utility vehicles, and the Mazda6 doesn’t make sense in these SUV-crazy times.
On the upside for sedan loyalists, the Mazda6’s replacement is due to adopt the rear-wheel-drive Large Architecture and brand-new straight-six gasoline and diesel engines. Expected to be on sale by the end of 2022, the fourth-generation sixer could return to the United States as a 2023 model.
Sales for the mid-sized sedan have contracted from a high point of 57,898 units in 2015 to 16,204 units last year, which is very bad for a series-production vehicle from a non-premium brand. You would expect the CX-3 to sell better because it’s a crossover, but curiously enough, this fellow has struggled to move 8,335 examples last year and 18,557 units in 2016.
Refreshed twice in the United States, the CX-3 has been indirectly sabotaged by none other than Mazda with the introduction of the CX-30. Not only does it offer more space for $1,260 extra, but the CX-30 looks cooler and it’s better suited for highway driving as well thanks to a 2.5-liter SkyActiv-G engine with 186 horsepower instead of 2.0 liters and 148 horsepower for the CX-3.
As for the Mazda6, the writing was on the wall since 2018, the year when Ford announced that it’s discontinuing traditional cars in favor of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. Some people were skeptical of the Ford Motor Company’s decision, but hindsight is 20/20 and the Blue Oval was right. This is truck country, but more than 50 percent of U.S. new-vehicle sales are utility vehicles, and the Mazda6 doesn’t make sense in these SUV-crazy times.
On the upside for sedan loyalists, the Mazda6’s replacement is due to adopt the rear-wheel-drive Large Architecture and brand-new straight-six gasoline and diesel engines. Expected to be on sale by the end of 2022, the fourth-generation sixer could return to the United States as a 2023 model.