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Australia might be among the last markets to still offer the Mazda 2 light hatchback and CX-3 SUV with reports indicating both models' discontinuation in Japan.
The Mazda 2 hatch and Mazda CX-3 SUV are reportedly close to reaching the end of the road in Japan.
Japanese publication Creative Trend reports production of the Mazda 2 and CX-3 will conclude for their home market by the end of the year, after more than a decade on sale.
Drive has contacted Mazda Australia for comment on the local future of the Mazda 2 and CX-3.
The CX-3 is expected to be replaced by a new-generation model by 2027 with optional hybrid power, while the future of the Mazda 2 is less clear.
In recent years, Mazda has axed its CX-8 and Mazda 6 in Japan before announcing their discontinuation in Australia some months later – while other models, such as the CX-5 2.5-litre turbo, remain available here but are not offered in Japan.
The Mazda hatchback was discontinued in the United Kingdom earlier this year for a rebadged version of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid, while the two models are currently sold side-by-side in mainland Europe.
Mazda currently builds the Mazda 2 in Japan for its domestic market, while the CX-3 is imported from Thailand.
For Australia, the Mazda 2 and CX-3 are both sourced from Thailand, with the brand's factory set to receive an $AU235 million investment to build "electrified" small SUVs from 2027.
The future models – likely to include a direct successor to the CX-3 – will be exported to Japan and other South East Asian countries, while Australia is also a likely destination.
Mazda's smallest SUV launched globally in 2015 and has since been discontinued in the United States and Europe, but it remains available in other markets, including Australia.
The CX-3 is the brand's second most-popular model in Australia behind the soon-to-be-updated CX-5, with an annual sales record achieved in 2024 – its 10th year in local showrooms – as it continues to dominate its 'light SUV' segment.
The Mazda 2, a twin-under-the-skin to the CX-3, debuted in 2014 and received facelifts in 2019 and 2024, while a recent update saw the deletion of its base variant in Australia, despite accounting for 45 per cent of sales.
Year-to-date, the Mazda 2 (997) has overtaken the Suzuki Swift (643), but it remains behind the MG 3 (2217), which costs around $8000 less than the Mazda.
In addition, Mazda has confirmed the end of the MX-30 EV in Japan with the final examples built on March 31, 2025, but the mild-hybrid and rotary-powered 'R-EV' plug-in hybrid models will remain on sale.
The mild-hybrid and electric MX-30 was axed in Australia in October 2023 amid slow sales and a high price for the EV, leaving the brand without an electric car in its line-up.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
