Mazda 6: ‘No intention to abandon medium passenger segment’

Mazda Australia will continue selling mid-size passenger cars – as other brands walk away from the slow-selling segment.

The brand’s mid-size offering – the venerable 2023 Mazda 6 – first launched in Australia in 2012, with the nameplate dating back to 2002.

With no timeline for the inevitable end of the line for the current-gen Mazda 6 – with or without a successor – it appears production will, for now, continue indefinitely in Japan.

“[The Mazda] 6 has been part of the portfolio now for a long time [and] as long as it's offered from Japan, we'll continue to offer it here,” said Mazda Australia marketing boss, Alastair Doak.

“We have a loyal group of customers who still want to drive sedans, or wagons for that matter, and we’ll continue to offer it in our portfolio.”

Mazda Australia said 25 per cent of new Mazda 6 buyers upgraded from an older model – while 40 per cent of buyers owned another Mazda.

In addition, 40 per cent of current Mazda 6 owners are said to upgrade to different Mazda vehicles, such as the CX-5, CX-8 and CX-9 SUVs.

“As a business strategy, it's our goal to offer choice to Australian consumers, so the default position is if it's manufactured by Mazda Corporation, there has to be a really good reason for us not to take it,” added managing director, Vinesh Bhindi.

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“It could be that it doesn't comply, or they won't build a right-hand drive or something else, but our going-in proposition always is to offer as much choice to the Australian consumers from the Mazda factory.”

Approximately 38,000 third-generation Mazda 6s have been sold since 2012 – compared to more than 150,000 CX-5s over the same period.

While the Mazda 6 is vanishing from several markets, it remains available in Japan and Australia.

It was discontinued in the United Kingdom earlier this year, with no direct replacement planned.

In 2021, the Mazda 6 was deleted from Mazda’s North American range – alongside the CX-3 – to focus on better-selling vehicles, including the CX-30, CX-5 and CX-50 SUVs.

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The CX-3 was also discontinued in Europe at the end of 2021, but it remains Australia's best-selling light SUV, despite its age.

To commemorate two decades since the arrival of the first-generation 6, Mazda has launched a new 20th Anniversary grade based on the flagship Atenza, with unique badging, an updated interior colour palette, and the brand's new 'artisan red' and 'rhodium white' finishes.

“There's a core group of very loyal Mazda 6 buyers who you would think it will appeal to them. It certainly looks nice. It should do well,” said Doak.

The wider range has also received minor updates for model-year 2023, including traffic jam assist for the G35 GT SP and Atenza, and wireless Apple CarPlay and a wireless phone charger on the G25 Touring and above.

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As before, the Mazda 6 includes an ageing 8-inch infotainment unit, rather than the larger 8.8-, 10.25 or 12.3-inch screens available in the 3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-60, CX-8 and CX-9 with its latest infotainment system.

Under the bonnet, the flagship 2.5-litre turbo remains – despite its deletion in Japan – but with a slight power bump to 173kW (at 4250rpm), up 3kW.

Turbo models also receive a retuned six-speed automatic transmission, and the characteristics of the electric power-assisted steering are revised to "enhance response and provide more tactile feedback at medium and high speeds".

VFACTS new-car sales figures reveal 623 examples of the Mazda 6 have been sold in Australia year-to-date, placing it behind the popular Toyota Camry (1886) – but ahead of the Skoda Octavia (474), Volkswagen Passat (259), Hyundai Sonata (90), and Honda Accord (37).