1 week ago
14
Time is ticking on the Mazda 6 sedan and wagon 12 years since the latest model arrived in showrooms, amid slowing sales as buyers migrate to SUVs.
Family Cars
The death knell for the Mazda 6 may have sounded in Australia by this time next year, as the current model reaches the end of the road in key overseas markets – with no direct successor in sight.
Australia is one of the few markets that still sells the Mazda 6 after it was dropped in Japan earlier this year – where it is built for local showrooms – as well as the UK and China in 2023, and the US in 2021.
Sales of the current model – launched locally in December 2012, nearly 12 years ago – have slumped from an annual peak of about 7700 during its run (in 2013), to about 1100 so far this year.
Mazda Australia marketing boss Alastair Doak told Drive the sedan and wagon range "will be in showrooms next year, absolutely."
But when asked if it will be on sale in 2026, he said: "Who knows. It'll be there as long as it's made by Japan, which is where it's built, and if it's available to us we'll continue to take it."
Australia is one of the few markets that still sells the Mazda 6, which is also produced in Vietnam for local sale to avoid high import tariffs.
Plans for a six-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive replacement on the Large Architecture used by the likes of the CX-60 have not come to fruition.
A successor of sorts is sold in China as the EZ-6, a new electric Mazda sedan based on a model from the brand's Chinese joint-venture partner Changan, but despite reports it will be sold in Europe, the car is not confirmed for Australia.
"It is a product built in China, for the Chinese market, where [the] sedan [body style] is still quite significant," Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi told Drive.
"So nothing new to add [in terms of Australian plans] apart from they've just launched it in China only a few weeks ago."
Asked if Mazda Australia would be interested in the car following its European launch, Bhindi said: "It's not confirmed for any other market apart from China."
Family Cars Guide
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.
