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NEWS
Mazda3 diesel confirmed, MPS in doubt
Local arm wants sporty '3', but Japan is yet to decideThere's no firm word yet on an MPS variant of the new Mazda3.
Even Martin Benders, Mazda Australia MD, is effectively in the dark, as he told journalists yesterday. Asked about generic higher-performance versions of the new model, he said: "I asked that as well, but I haven't got the answer yet."
Benders subsequently clarified that he was not ruling out an MPS, but nor was he ruling it in; it's simply a business case that shows no apparent sign of life at Mazda's head office in Hiroshima. Steve Maciver, Public Relations Manager for Mazda Australia, is also unaware of any development work for an MPS version of the new car.
"We've indicated that if it was to be considered it would be something that we would be very interested in," he said. "But as things currently stand it's not firmly in the Mazda3 program... That doesn't mean to say it's not going to happen, but it's not specifically in the program at this stage."
It seems however, that we will definitely see diesel variants of the Mazda3 in due course. When that will be, precisely, is also unclear. It's rumoured that a smattering of (petrol-engined) cars will be delivered to Australian docks from January, but the local retail launch program won't get into full swing until February. That's later than originally planned, because Mazda has reportedly chosen to release the new 3 in Russia ahead of Australia. Russia – and the rest of Europe – is a large market for diesels, so ramping up production to meet demand elsewhere is likely to hold back a local release. No one is quite sure how long that delay may be, either.
"Diesel's in the program," Maciver confirmed. "We will not have diesel at launch [however]... We don't actually have timing for diesel yet, but we will definitely have it at some point."
The diesel, it seems, is the only ultra-frugal Mazda3 coming to Australia. As we reported yesterday, the new SKYACTIV-G petrol engines are expected to deliver combined-cycle fuel consumption below that of the current model's SP20 SKYACTIV variant – 6.1L/100km.
Mazda has no intention of going toe-to-toe with European manufacturers developing small-displacement turbo engines to beat fuel economy tests.
"The whole theory of SKYACTIV is that we can deliver the fuel economy without having to downsize and [turbocharge] – especially in gasoline engines," Benders explained during the presentation. "The benefit of that is we have a bigger sweet spot in operations, so you can operate at different revs without destroying your fuel [economy] in real world driving conditions.
"The downsizing of – mainly – the Europeans is really aimed at the European test cycle. If you look at the US, there's not so many of those cars in the market there. We offer a single powertrain solution in SKYACTIV that meets the requirements in both markets."
A rotary-powered hybrid variant is unlikely to come to Australia in the near future, says Steve Maciver.
"There is a hybrid in the program," Maciver said. "We haven't committed yet to taking it for Australia; we really need to look at it and work out when's the right timing to bring that car across here.
"If we think the time is right we'll bring it in, but that's not going to be in the next couple of years."
When asked whether any price premium over the diesel model would hurt the hybrid's chances of making it to Australia, Maciver said that Mazda Australia has not reached the point of considering pricing and positioning within the range for the hybrid. He explained that local market perceptions of hybrid-drive vehicles were the principal stumbling block.
"There's not a huge take-up of hybrid technology at this stage. Obviously if the demand is there, as with any product that's made available to us – if we can see that there's sufficient demand there – it's something that we'll very seriously look at. But at this point in time it's not on the cards...
"It's probably a case of let's wait and see in the near to mid term, as to what happens."
The Mazda3 diesel can be expected to post fuel consumption figures even lower than the petrol variants'. Unlike the current Mazda3 diesel, the new model is expected to offer an automatic transmission, which should deliver much stronger relative sales volumes across the range, provided the landed cost won't bump up the price premium in local showrooms.
On the subject of pricing, Maciver was reluctant to indicate how the importer would position the new car.
"We can't talk about price, but needless to say it will be absolutely competitive," he said. "We know where we've got to be with pricing and spec – and all that kind of stuff. We know how competitive that segment can be..."
Maciver did say that Mazda had formed a collective opinion about the new car's entry-level market position – and while he was not in a position to reveal that, he did offer that the Mazda3 will straddle a point somewhere above the market rivals that are fighting a war based entirely on perceived value.
"We've got a benchmark," he said. We've got to look at the market closely and see what everyone else is doing.
"One thing I will say is you're not going to see an all-new Mazda3 come in at Pulsar price levels of $19,990. It's not going to happen. We believe the car deserves better than that; we believe the car is better than that.
"But that said, you're not going to see a dramatic price hike... but we do have to bear in mind it's an all-new car, [with] all-new technology. We will price it where it needs to be."
However the price will end up, it will likely be influenced during the half a year between now and the local launch by any slide in value for the Australian dollar, or even an upturn in the yen.
"Discussions are on-going with Japan at the moment; obviously we're still a while out from launch..." as Maciver put it.
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Written byKen Gratton
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