2024 Mazda CX-90 and CX-9 to co-exist – for now

The arrival of the new 2024 Mazda CX-90 later this year will not spell the end of the six-year-old but still-popular Mazda CX-9 in Australia, where the Japanese brand has committed to offering both large SUVs for the foreseeable future.

In the US, Mazda’s new flagship will effectively replace the CX-9, but Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi told carsales at this morning’s CX-90 global reveal that the two SUVs will be offered side-by-side for the time being.

“There are two perspectives to this,” he explained. “One is we make a business call on whether we offer it or not and the other perspective is the factory will say whether they manufacture it or not, and either one of those can make the decision.”

Bhindi confirmed the CX-90 is expected to arrive in Australia in the third quarter of this year (between July and September 2023), meaning Mazda’s new flagship could enter local showrooms as soon as a month after the smaller five-seat CX-60 medium SUV, which arrives in June.

“CX-90 is likely to arrive in quarter three – we’ll confirm exactly when soonish – but for the 2023 year we will have CX-5, CX-60 will join mid-year, CX-8, CX-9 and CX-90 will join quarter three,” he said.

Despite the current generation first appearing back in 2016, Mazda Australia is understandably keen to hang on to the CX-9, which racked up 6460 sales in 2022. But with the model’s biggest market dropping out, it remains to be seen how long production will continue.

Nevertheless, Bhindi said the arrival of the CX-60 and CX-90 will allow Mazda to make more informed decisions regarding its SUV range moving forward.

“We are in the fortunate position… that portfolio of CX-5, CX-60, CX-8, CX-9, CX-90, when we have that in the market in the second half of this year, we will learn a lot from what customers are thinking and help us make decisions on CX-70 and [CX]80,” he said.

“Our thinking is more portfolio as opposed to nameplate.”

Should the CX-9 bow out, Bhindi said he was confident that buyers looking for a cheaper seven-seat SUV who will be priced out of CX-90 consideration will still be catered for by the CX-8, which starts from $40,490 plus on-road costs.

Just as the CX-60 ($59,800-$87,525) has been priced well above Mazda’s stalwart five-seat mid-size SUV – the CX-5 ($35,390-$54,310) – the CX-90 is expected to command a price premium over the CX-9 ($47,250-$74,710).

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