Mazda CX-9 discontinued at the end of 2023

Sad news this afternoon if you’re the sentimental type: the Mazda CX-9 will soon be no more.

Mazda Australia has today confirmed that the CX-9, which has been the brand’s flagship large SUV for the previous fifteen years and is a previous Wheels Car of the Year Winner, will soon be removed from its lineup both globally and in Australia.

The CX-9’s axing comes as Mazda prepares to introduce a raft of new large SUVs, including the recently confirmed 2023 Mazda CX-80 and the soon-to-arrive CX-90.

While not direct replacements for the CX-9, the new models effectively occupy the same large seven-seat SUV segment that the CX-9 has filled since its introduction in Australia in 2007.

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The new SUVs will also be much younger than the ageing CX-9 and are built on Mazda’s fresh ‘Large Platform’ architecture, which features a sportier rear-wheel drive bias and new inline six-cylinder engines.

The CX-9’s discontinuation will not affect the Mazda CX-8, even though it also has considerable crossover with the new Large Platform SUVS.

“We’re just about to introduce the biggest update to the CX-8 since we’ve brought it to market, so we’re pretty happy with it,” said Mazda Australia’s head of marketing, Alastair Doak. “We’re looking forward to getting that new CX-8 out and about. It’s a good car.”

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Retaining the CX-8 also ensures Mazda still has an affordable 7-seat SUV to compete against mainstream rivals like the Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-Trail and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace.

Pricing for the CX-8 currently kicks off at just over $40,000, however Mazda’s new ‘Large Platform’ SUVs will carry higher price tags as the brand continues to push into premium territory in Australia.

The CX-60, for example, which is the cheapest of the new models and is only offered as a five-seater, starts at $59,800 and stretches to $85,675 for the flagship plug-in hybrid model. Pricing for the CX-80 and CX-90 is yet to be confirmed, but the entry-point to their respective ranges will be higher than the CX-60.

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The second-generation Mazda CX-9 won the Wheels Car of the Year award in 2017 when it was praised for its eye-catching design, interior comfort and practicality, and its strong performance and driver appeal.

Despite the decision to drop the CX-9, Mazda Australia isn’t concerned about losing market-share, with the brand instead confident its influx of fresh product will actually see it gain sales in the popular large SUV segment.

“We’ve certainly positioned the CX-90 in the marketplace as a very compelling value proposition,” added Mazda’s Alastair Doak. “Even though it will be a higher price [than CX-9] there’s still a very strong value offering there.

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“I think it’s natural for people to move up when they replace their car in terms of performance and luxury and technology. The CX-90 is a physically larger car with a bigger boot at 500+ litres with three rows in place, it has third row air vents and all the latest safety tech. And then there’s the powertrains – which are a huge step up for refinement, performance and sporty characteristics. So there are many compelling reasons why people will step up.

“If that doesn’t happen, you'll be able to buy a CX-9 in this market for most of this year,” he added. “We also sell the CX-8, we’re just about to update that car, and then we’ll have CX-80 in the ranks as well.

“So we’re going from two three-row SUV choices (CX-8 and CX-9), to three three-row SUVs (CX-8, CX-80 and CX-90). So we’re actually increasing our offering in that space so we’re very comfortable we’ll have a destination for existing customers either to stay where they are or move up.”