MPS to help Mazda push upmarket — eventually

It's been written about ad nauseam for the last several years – this website is as guilty as any other – but the need for a return of Mazda's high-performance brand, MPS, now appears more pressing.

During the opening of Mazda's new Australian headquarters in Melbourne last week, the company's senior managing executive officer Yuji Nakamine said that as European premium brands bring their prices down with smaller, more affordable vehicles, Mazda's goal was to start pushing upmarket into the same space.

As a result, expect to see a stronger focus on premium cabin finishes like those in Mazda's latest flagship SUV, the CX-9, but also a renewed focus on performance.

When the connection between premium European car-makers and their predilection for performance sub-brands – BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, Audi Sport, etc – was mentioned, Nakamine said it was an entirely feasible approach for Mazda too.

"That kind of strategy is reasonable. So if we can, MPS is something that could help us improve the brand further. So we continue to look at it," he stated.

Mazda has consistently stated that a resurrection of its MPS performance sub-brand is on hold for now, as the Japanese company focuses on an expanded SUV line-up, which may or may not include the upcoming CX-4 in Australia.

Another way for Mazda to head upmarket and closer to the luxury German brands would be to deploy a range-topping hero sports car, such as a new-generation rotary-engined coupe previewed by the RX Vision.

"We were really encouraged by the reaction to that concept, but still it’s a concept," said Nakamine.

"We have a dream of bringing that kind of emotional product to the market in the future but at the moment there's no specific plan to bring any mass produced [hero] vehicle."

He said that while Mazda's R&D department "continues to look at that kind of concept" and should be prepared "technology-wise" to deploy its SKYACTIV tech on a rotary engine, he insisted a business case had to be established first.

"We have to be realistic," said Nakamine.

One of Mazda's most senior global executives, Masahiro Moro, recently told us there would be no more "childish executions" like the previous Mazda3 MPS but that the company remained committed to MPS in the long-term.

Asked when its MPS brand would be reinstated, Nakamine was cagey but suggested it's unlikely to happen before the release of Mazda's born-again rotary performance flagship, which is expected by 2020.

"Again, I think Mazda has to be careful about deploying our engineering resources for the best interests of our customers in the market.

"But I don't reject the possibility of MPS in the future."