While it’s never had an upscale brand as some of its Japanese competitors do, Mazda is apparently planning to get into the premium segment, starting with a new CX-60 plug-in hybrid SUV destined for the UK, and similar models that will be coming to Canada.
According to an interview with British publication Autocar, Jeremy Thomson, managing director of Mazda UK, intends that the automaker will become “a credible alternative to the traditional mainstream premium and that means non-German.”
In other words, Mazda won’t try to beat the Germans at premium automobiles, but plans to give Lexus a run for its money. That’s about the only competitor it will have in that higher-end Japanese segment, since Acura is primarily sold only in North America, and Infiniti was withdrawn from the UK and western Europe in 2020.
The CX-60 will be a plug-in hybrid, with rear-wheel drive and two rows of seats. There will also be a three-row version, the CX-80, but neither will be coming to Canada. Instead, they’re slated primarily for the UK, Europe and Japan. The UK will also shortly get a hybrid version of the subcompact Mazda2, a model no longer sold in Canada.
However, we in Canada will be getting some models from Mazda’s “Large Product” group, including the two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90, which like the CX-60 will be rear-wheel-drive plug-in hybrids, with six-cylinder gasoline engines. The CX-90 will replace the CX-9 and be Mazda Canada’s only three-row sport-utility.
Mazda’s UK division has only released teaser photos of the CX-60 so far, showing wood trim and stitched fabric in the interior. Thomson indicated the focus will be on the Mazda brand, sold through its existing dealers, instead of spinning off a separate division. Mazda originally planned to launch a luxury brand called Amati in 1994, in response to the creation of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti, but the crash of the Japanese stock market caused Mazda to pull the plug on the division before it was launched.
Keyword: Mazda's moving into the premium segment with all-new global models