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Mazda moved nearly 80,000 CX-5s from the lot to the highway in 2013. If the automaker has its way this year, the C segment crossover may break 100,000 units sold.
WardsAuto reports Mazda North American Operations CEO Jim O’Sullivan his employer can hit the 100,000-mark again with the CX-5, placing the crossover alongside the Mazda3 within the company, and the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Ford Escape and Honda CR-V in the overall C segment crossover record books.
Factors cited by O’Sullivan in his hopes for the CX-5 include a recovering United States auto industry, brand awareness among U.S. consumers, reduced fleet volume, a new plant in Mexico that will build the Mazda3 while allowing more capacity in Japan to be used for CX-5 assembly, and a growing enthusiasm for the C segment and small crossovers:
We’re seeing really good, organic growth from our current-generation Mazda3 customers that have bought maybe (the old compact) Protege, then Mazda3, (and) now (are) moving into crossovers and the CX-5.
Speaking of crossovers, O’Sullivan says Mazda is looking at entering the B segment with a subcompact crossover slotted under the CX-5. The so-called CX-3, expected to be based upon the Mazda2, would see production in Mexico beginning July 2015.
Finally, the CX-9 will undergo a new redesign for 2016, and will make use of the automaker’s SkyActiv brand of fuel efficiency technology upon introduction late next year.
Congrats to Mazda. This is a great vehicle, especially since they bumped the engine to 2.5. The prices are very reasonable as well.
Meh, checked it out. Our 2.0eb Escape has it all over on this little weakling; space, ride and drive, power, looks. Oh, and it hasn’t been in the shop once CR zealots and import snobs.
^^^^^
This and Mazda has about the lowest average horsepower of vehicles sold makes you wonder what happened to Zoom-zoom.
The baby Buick continues to beat the CX-5 in handling and matches it in braking but smokes the X1 in stopping from 60 mph
http://m.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1402-2013-buick-encore-awd-vs-bmw-x1-xdrive28i-comparison/
http://m.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/1312_2014_suv_the_year_contenders/
Seconded. Nice to see a relatively small, independent manufacturer do well. Bring on the diesels, Mazda!
What is it with TTAC readers and diesels?
They long for the diesels are old that were actually worth a damn. Current diesel engines will never pay for themselves they are overly complex..the solution the the particulate problem was government mandated and not a free market solution so as usual its expensive etc etc.
Gobs of torque + good efficiency.
The funny thing is that the vast majority drive cars with gasoline engines.
But…
If it were really that important to you, you’d have a diesel.
I do have one and love it, also love the long range on a tank 600 miles and the resale value as well
One of the few in the segment that still comes with a proper manual transmission. Please, God, let Mazda continue to sell enough stick shifts so that they keep making them into 2017, when I want to buy one.
Though I’m still sore that they only offer the manual in the lowest-spec, FWD edition.
This. If you want a manual AWD CUV, you’re buying a Forester (and even then you can’t get Nice Things like leather or a turbo).
There are at least two others, but they are lousy choices:
Jeep Patriot/Compass cousins
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
However, I feel the exact opposite of you… I would love to buy a FWD Outback (i.e. Legacy FWD wagon) but Subaru doesn’t sell one.
It’s frustrating, but it is impressive that anyone offers a manual in this segment at all.
I’m more annoyed that you can’t get the manual in the Mazda3 w/the 2.5L engine. The sportiest volume car that the zoom-zoom company sells, and yet no manual on the stronger engine despite already certifying the combo for the Mazda6.
Most reviewers claimed it would happen eventually, but it has been a while now and still no news.
And the manual has black car seats with only black, grey, and silver exterior colors. How about one with tan (sand) seats with either the red or crystal blue exterior?
My theory involves the fact that you don’t buy a car from Mazda – only Mazda Dealers can do that. Dealers don’t want unicorns on their lots.
I’ve been watching my local Mazda dealers’ inventories. Stick shift CX-5s sit a LONG time. Six months, and often even longer. Mazda doesn’t want its dealers stuck with even crazier unicorns like a teal, manual CX-5, so they simply don’t build them that way.
My SWAG is that the take rate on stickshift CX-5s is lower than 5% – which is why I doubt they’ll even be made in 2017.
You’re right eggsalad, but why can’t we order what we want rather than be forced to take what the dealer has? They get $700 for a “transportation” charge – so grab them from a lot somewhere and ship them within a week or two. The dealer would only need to stock a few demo units, including one manual trans.
Because the Mazda 3 hatch doesn’t offer AWD?
Because the Mazda3 hatch looks like a “stupid wagon” to the average American buyer, while the CX-5 looks like a “cool SUV”.
Now, with that said, I myself drive the CX-5’s predecessor, the Tribute, and there’s nothing really wrong with preferring a crossover over a wagon, or vice versa. Only thing is, to get my money’s worth (currently at the “lolnomoney” stage of life), I’ll have to drive it ’til the wheels fall off, which might be tomorrow, might be 2020. I like to think of myself as an automotive enthusiast, but at the end of the day, I’m driving the same “evil CUV mommy-mobile” as everyone else.
Also, is it too much to ask that we have actual colors available on the stick-shift model? You guys try to tell us you’re the sporty car company, give us a sporty color.
The take rate on sticks has been pretty low for a while. Locally, here in Austin, back when my 2003 Mazda Tribute was new – I’d say the manual transmission take rate was about 1 out of 100. Except for a blue moon, I don’t see very many around or for sale.
Back in 03 the manual transmission was only available with a 4 cylinder Ford Zetec on the base model. The only way to get the 4 cylinder engine was to opt for a manual shift.
99% of the buyers went for the “evil CUV mommy-mobile” with a V6 and automatic transmission.
Even with a 140K miles, it has been a pretty good wagon. The aerodynamic profile going down the road is its only truck-like attribute. Bottom line, it’s a car with 4 doors and a hatch.
Because with the amount of snow we’ve been getting for the last couple of winters, AWD and the extra ground clearance are a nice bonus. Plus we can fit four people plus their scuba gear in ours.
There is a 4WD option for the 3 in Japan. It’s only available on the small engine, though.
Hopefully, that 4WD is a test bed for dropping the system in a Speed3.
Good job, good for Mazda.
Congrats to Mazda for making an engaging, practical, and reasonably priced crossover. Oh, and for wiping that stupid smile off their corporate face, too!
Well let’s see, it’s good looking, handles great, gets great mileage and is reasonably priced. It SHOULD be selling well over 100,000 units. It DESERVES to. And yes Mazda, bring the CX-3 here too.
In a couple years, when my lease is up (if I don’t decide to buy it outright), I might be looking into one of these. A guy I know has one and reports that he’s getting roughly 30mpg combined with the 2.0 5M, which I consider pretty good all things considered. This is probably one of the better looking in the segment. The CR-V and Rav4 have the same shnoz and the Escape seems only to offer a manual with the 1.6T (of whose reliability I am still skeptical – small turbo, big car…).
I’d like to sit up a little higher and have some practicality along with a manual.
Where are you at? Here in the US, no Escape is available with a manual. Of course, the same vehicle is sold in Europe as the Kuga, with not only a manual but a diesel as well…
Even volkswagen only offers 1 colour on their GTI in 2015 – other than the usual black, white and grey/silver. What really annoys me is that in Canada they now think they can charge $5,000 for 2 more doors! What genius thought up this?
When shopping for a small crossover for the family this came in a very close second to the (’14) Forester. The Subie has more interior space and the missus liked the driving position better, but the CX-5 handles far better. Amazing car and Mazda deserves the success.
Trying to talk a friend of mine into this instead of her NEXT Forester (that I originally talked her into, she’s had 3 now). Seems like a waste of my time so far.
Already looking for a 4th Subaru? Too late, they’ve already got her.
Unquestioning brand loyalty. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.
I created a Monster. I should get royalty checks from Subaru. She was a Acura(Legend)/Honda(Accord)/Toyota(Camry) girl. She really won’t look at ANYTHING else now. AND she’s talked two of her friends into them (Outbacks), but she’s a Forester girl. It’s like a damn CULT. Maybe a Mazda CX-5 intervention is in order.
I won’t speak against the Cult of Subaru, but if an intervention is in order I say get her our of the fake suv segment altogether. My best friend’s family was taken into the cult in the late 90s, but now his father is raising all sorts of hell directly with Subaru over his wife’s near-new ’13 Outback. He had company cars until his recent retirement and his retirement gift to his wife was a replacement for her low miled ’98 Outback. Evidently the ’13 consistently gets 15mpg around town where the ’98 did 19 city / 26ish hwy and he is livid about the “apparent devolution of mileage over fifteen years of car development” (his words).
You guys are hysterical. I never noticed The Cult until I bought one. You’re absolutely right.
I’ll assume this is good news for Mazda, but this story lacks context. How does 100,000 units compare to Mazda’s goals? How can reduced fleet volume be a factor in an increasing number of units sold? Reduced fleet sales as a percentage of total sales is certainly a healthy indicator, but I don’t see how it helps a total sales goal.
Also, claiming the 100k benchmark puts the CX-5 alongside cars such as the CR-V is misleading. The CR-V sold over 300k units in 2013 according to the linked Wards article. All Wards meant by grouping the CX-5 with the Rogue, RAV4, CR-V, and Escape is that it could join a shortlist of CUVs that sell in excess of 100k units. Without the added context of the CR-V tripling this target in 2013, you are implying the CX-5 could achieve comparable sales.
“WardsAuto reports Mazda North American Operations CEO Jim O’Sullivan his employer can hit the 100,000-mark again with the CX-5…” What do you mean by “again”? You said 80k units were sold in 2013. The original WardsAuto story was referring to the Mazda3 sales of 104,713 in 2013, but you left that out. It sounds pedantic to complain about this, but the poorly written second paragraph raised a red flag and had me questioning the whole article. Please be more careful.
Relax, have a burger and and a beer and you’ll feel better. We’re not going for a Pulitzer Prize here.
I am overdue for lunch now that you mention it!
Despite all my complaining about some of the writing on TTAC, I do realize this is a car blog meant primarily for fun. Hopefully my occasional rants are seen as constructive and serve to improve the site.
Enjoy your burger and beer! Frankly, sounds REALLY good about now. Lol!
I had no idea that Mazda still made the CX-9, let alone that they were planning on redesigning it.
If you can get past the not-very-good mpg (17-18; par for this size/weight class), the CX-9 is quite a value.
Our neighbors bought one last year and they love it, especially the way it drives…
They gota little under $5k off msrp.
The only refreshed ones I’d seen had “Enhance Your Drive: Scan Here” stickers on the driver’s window.
Until one day, I was at Steak n’ Shake, and I saw a CX-9 that WASN’T a rental in the drive-thru of Panda Express, right next to SnS. I was STUNNED! They’re good vehicles, and they go for good prices too on cars.com.
Too bad there are not any Mazda cars made in the U.S. anymore – they come from Japan and now Mexico. That actually turned me away from buying one of these CX-5 cars last year. I’d be happy if they made at least some cars here like the other Japanese manufacturers do (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru & Mitsubishi) and the Europeans (Mercedes, BMW & VW).
They did make cars in the US, but the plants were organized by the UAW.
What news on the mazda5? Skyactive and Kodo, por favor.
I’ve seen conflicting reports. Some say it won’t get updated any time in the near future, but other say it’s on the schedule before 2016. Honestly, it needs the bump in efficiency really compete, but it’s perhaps the most neglected car in their line-up.
The CX-5 sales would even better if it wasn’t for the poor dealer network. Most of them are run down and does not give off the feeling of a quality auto manufacturer. I say most, at least in Florida. I know of only one dealer that brings a sense of quality. Most of the Toyota and Honda dealers off the buyer a better experience.
The local dealer here is a Mazda/VW/Audi/Porsche dealer, which is quite a combination. Then there is a Ford/Mazda dealer about 30 minutes away. Both of them are very nice looking with newer showrooms and they don’t feel dirty (until a sales guy makes an appearance).
Still waiting for the diesel CX-5 and 6. I’m beginning to think Mazda won’t be offering them at all.