LA MOTOR SHOW: CX-3 to steal Mazda2 sales

Mazda has finally confirmed the existence of its first compact SUV, the long-awaited CX-3, but concedes it won't bring a completely new entourage of customers to the Japanese brand.

Locked in for a surprise world debut at the Los Angeles motor show on November 18, the all-new CX-3 will be based on the third-generation Mazda2 and is set to share its front-wheel drive layout, new 1.5-litre petrol engine and, perhaps, the new 1.5-litre diesel engine available overseas.

Mazda won't comment on exact release timing for Australia or reports its new city crossover will be priced from about $21,000 and also be available with a 2.0-litre all-wheel drive powertrain, although motoring understands the CX-3 will go on sale here in the first half of 2015.

That will make Australia one of the first markets to receive the CX-3, which is logical given compact SUV is currently the fastest growing sales segment here and the fact Australia is the first market outside Japan to get the new Mazda2.

Speaking at yesterday's launch of the new Mazda2, which goes on sale in Australia on December 1, Mazda Australia Marketing Director Alastair Doak said the CX-3 will be unlike any vehicle in its class.

Doak said the local CX-3 line-up will better meet the needs of small SUV customers in Australia, where the top-selling sub-$25,000 SUV (Mitsubishi's ASX) has averaged 780 sales a month this year and key rivals from major brands like the Holden Trax, Ford  EcoSport and Nissan JUKE have all averaged less than 500.

None of those models are available with a diesel engine, neither the Holden or Ford can be had with AWD and the EcoSport's most advanced 1.0-litre turbo-triple can only be had as a manual.

"We've been working on it for two and a half years and we're going to treat it like a proper, fully fledged model in our range, unlike some other brands with half-baked model ranges," said Doak.

Mazda Australia Managing Director Martin Benders said the CX-3 will put the Japanese brand in seven of the eight vehicle segments that currently comprise 82 per cent of Australia's overall new-vehicle market. Mazda is currently represented in six segments that account for 72 per cent of the market.

"When it arrives it will arrive in the fastest growing segment and Mazda will be represented in over 80 per cent of the market," said Benders.

"The third of the SUV sub-segments is still relatively small but the fastest growing of all of the top eight segments. We see that growth continuing into the future and we believe our new model that will be unveiled next month will be a successful player in that segment."

It's clear Mazda has big plans for the CX-3, which could well outsell the Mazda2 to become the brand's second best selling model behind the Mazda3, which continues to battle with the Toyota Corolla for outright top-selling new vehicle honours.

However, Mazda says the introduction of the CX-3 will come at the expense of the new Mazda2, which replaces a model that overtook Toyota's Yaris as Australia's most popular light-car, before itself being eclipsed by the Hyundai i20.

An average of 1200 Mazda2s were sold in Australia over the life of the outgoing model (launched here in 2007), but Mazda Australia predicts an average of just 1100 monthly sales of the new 2 – about the same as previous generation in its final year, during run-out and when supply was tight.

“We’ve done the sums and the way the market is moving that small SUV segment is the only segment that has got volume in it that we’re not represented [in] yet," said Mazda Australia Senior Public Relations Manager, Steve Maciver.

“We’re very, very happy that we are going to be in there. That segment is only going to grow. [But] There is no doubt that people who are buying those cars may potentially be a customer for a Mazda 2 or another light car.

“So there will be some affect [on Mazda2 sales], but we’re pretty confident that the numbers that we’ll get for Mazda2 will put us towards the pointy end of the segment,” Maciver said.

“With CX-3, we’re not commenting on numbers just yet. But what we will say is that when CX-3 comes, there is the opportunity for some relatively significant incremental volume for our brand here in Australia.”

Apart from the ASX, Trax, EcoSport, JUKE and QASHQAI, the CX-3 will also compete with the Hyundai ix35, Subaru XV, Volkswagen Tiguan, Skoda Yeti, Peugeot 2008 and Jeep Compass and Patriot in the small SUV segment.

Other models set to join the compact crossover class in 2015 include the all-new Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Renault Captur and Suzuki Vitara, plus a redesigned ix35 and, in early 2016, Fiat's all-new 500X, with Toyota and Kia also expected to join the pint-size soft-road brigade in coming years.

Along with the CX-3, Mazda will also use the LA show to stage world debuts of the facelifted CX-5 and Mazda6, both of which will join the CX-3 and MX-5 on sale here next year.

The last redesigned Mazda to appear, by early 2016, will be the second-generation CX-9, followed by coupe and diesel-hybrid versions of the Mazda6, a rotary-equipped plug-in hybrid, Mazda's first pure EV and, in 2020, the all-new RX-9 rotary sports car.