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NEWS
Mazda CX-3 almost here
Japanese brand says all-new compact SUV is "fully feasible" but a Mazda1 micro-car is notMazda has ruled in a compact SUV based on the new Mazda2 and widely dubbed the CX-3, but ruled out a sub-Mazda2 micro-model potentially called the Mazda1.
The unsurprising news comes from Seita Kanai, who becomes Mazda Motor Corporation chairman on July 1.
Asked by motoring.com.au if Mazda could produce an SUV based on the soon-to-be released Mazda 2, he said: "Yes, of course. I am not telling you that we are going to launch the model, but that it's within the scope of that framework. It's fully feasible."
The framework Kanai refers to includes models ranging between the Mazda2 and CX-9, plus the MX-5. While the 'CX-3' falls within that product range, the 'Mazda1' does not, said Kanai-san.
"From that framework we don't have any plan to produce those other kinds of models. Maybe the younger people in the company will have to think about that," he joked.
"If you ask me 'can Mazda be successful by entering that [micro-car] segment?' the answer is no, because we cannot make money. In terms of models Mazda will develop we're not considering models below Mazda2."
The CX-3, on the other hand, is odds-on to be revealed later this year (as is the new MX-5 and CX-9), before going on sale globally in 2015 as Mazda's first response to increasingly popular pint-size SUVs like the Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, Nissan JUKE, Peugeot 2008 and Honda's upcoming HR-V.
Written byMarton Pettendy
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