Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Mexico
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
  • News
    • Photos
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • Sales By Market
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Latest Launches
    • Sales and Retail
    • Car Cutaways
    • On The Move
    • EU, Japan back automatic braking regulation
      German auto jobs at risk from hard Brexit
      Aston Martin to preview SUV for revived Lagonda nameplate at Geneva show
      How VW, Daimler, BMW, others are transforming into tech companies
    • Sweden's Veoneer forecasts flat sales in 2019
      Ionity boss has plan for stations across Europe; he just needs an EV boom
      Moscow's short-term car rental boom highlights threat to automakers from new players
      German auto jobs at risk from hard Brexit
    • Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Nissan take big hits as European sales fall 5% in January
      Russia sales rise nearly 1% in January despite VAT increase
      Audi, Fiat, BMW among losers as Spanish sales fall 8% in January
      Volvo, VW gain sales in UK market down nearly 2% in January as diesel plunge continues
    • Volvo blurs the wagon/SUV line with the V60 Cross Country
      view gallery
      7 photos
      New Range Rover Evoque designed for the 'urban jungle'
      Range Rover Evoque gets hybrid tech to cut emissions
      Tarraco gives Seat a flagship SUV to help retain wealthy buyers
    • Ferrari will unveil V-8 hybrid supercar this year
      Mercedes outsold Audi in China last month on sedan demand
      Tesla's Musk visits Norway to review delivery delays
      Europe's minicar segment to shrink as VW, PSA mull axing their smallest cars
    • Suppliers to the new Porsche Panamera
      Suppliers to the new Peugeot 5008
      Suppliers to the new Seat Ibiza
      Suppliers to the new VW Touareg
    • Daimler appoints Airbus exec as finance chief
      VW China CEO to join VW brand's management board
      Mini USA names marketing veteran McKenna head of product planning
      Dyson hires former Infiniti chief to head its electric-car business
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Auto Shows
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Frankfurt Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
    • China EV startup Aiways will launch SUV in Europe
      Bentley revs up Bentayga with Speed variant
      Skoda will debut first EV at Geneva show
      VW Passat gets cleaner diesel, partial autonomy
    • Bugatti considers four-door model for 2024
      Frankfurt photo booth
      Frankfurt's best and wurst
      Merkel says German car industry must work to rebuild trust
    • Vietnam's first automaker now has names for first sedan, SUV
      Ferrari Monza supercars will earn $755 million in revenue
      China's GAC likely to debut in Europe with an EV
      Bugatti mulls SUV as part of broader model range
    • VW will launch SOL EV brand in China with subcompact crossover
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW's iX3 concept heralds electric expansion
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW will export iX3 electric SUV to Europe, U.S. from China
      view gallery
      11 photos
      Mercedes seeks to keep China luxury lead with stretched A class
    • view gallery
      7 photos
      Jeep finds green groove with plug-in hybrid SUV concept
      Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati sales soar in China as rich snub austerity push
      China's luxury market to grow to 3M a year, Audi, Mercedes predict
      view gallery
      10 photos
      Mercedes hints at new styling with sedan concept
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Luca Ciferri
    • Douglas A. Bolduc
    • Paul McVeigh
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
  • Maps
    • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
    • Powertrain Map of Europe
    • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
  • Supplements
    • Connected Car
    • Talk From The Top
    • BMW 100
    • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Automotive News Europe Congress
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
  • E-MAGAZINE
    • Read the latest issue
    • Download the app
    • Subscribe
  • More
    • E-Magazine
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • About Us
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
November 30, 2011 12:00 AM

CX-5 ushers in post-Ford era for Mazda

Luca Ciferri
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Mazda expects annual European sales of about 40,000 CX-5s, a quarter of the car's global volume.

    BARI, Italy – The arrival of the CX-5 compact crossover, which uses Mazda's new scalable vehicle architecture, marks the beginning of the post-Ford era for the Japanese company.

    Ford once controlled 33.4 percent of Mazda, giving it management rights, but now has just 3.5 percent after divesting most of its stake as part of the One Ford restructuring process in 2008.

    The CX-5 is the first car to use Mazda's new architecture, which will also be used on the replacements to the Mazda3 compact, Mazda6 mid-sized and the CX-7 mid-sized crossover. At full usage, the new architecture will underpin about 80 percent of Mazda's global volume.

    In 2008, with Ford preparing to exit, Mazda began thinking about how it should seek to reshape its future as independent automaker with the target of building about 1.2 million cars a year.

    Mazda's eventual answer to carving out an independent future was very similar to what was decided by another former Ford subsidiary, Volvo.

    Last year, Ford sold Volvo to Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. for $1.5 billion and the Swedish automaker too began to develop its own engines and underpinnings.

    A new design direction, a new scalable vehicle architecture and a new family of engines all mark the similarities in Mazda's and Volvo's strategy.

    Mazda's new design direction, called Kodo, or 'soul in motion' in Japanese, was first seen on the Shinari concept in 2010 and then applied to the Minagi, an almost production-ready CX-5 unveiled as a concept at the Geneva show in March.

    Unlike the new design look, Mazda's new architecture has not been given an official name yet. Designed for front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive application it will go on sale with the CX-5 from March in Japan and from April in Europe.

    Photo

    The CX-5 is the first vehicle to feature all the company's new engine, transmission, body and chassis upgrades – all of which Mazda groups under the name Skyactiv.

    The CX-5 is also the first vehicle to feature all the company's new engine, transmission, body and chassis upgrades – all of which Mazda groups under the name Skyactiv. Mazda says its Skyactiv upgrades improve the efficiency, safety and driving pleasure of its vehicles.

    "It will provide us with huge opportunities," Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi said in a recent interview. Once its Skyactiv technologies enter its entire lineup, Mazda expects its global fuel economy to improve by 30 percent compared with 2008 and its CO2 emissions to fall 23 percent.

    Here is a look at the key members of the Skyactiv family:

    Skyactiv-G: 165hp (fwd) and 160hp (awd) 2.0-liter gasoline direct-injection engines that improve fuel economy by 15 percent compared with current engines.

    Skyactiv-D: 150hp and 175hp 2.2-liter diesels with a twin-stage turbo that improves fuel economy 20 percent. The new diesel engine meets Euro 6 emissions rules without the need for nitrogen-dioxide after-treatment.

    Skyactiv-Drive: Six-speed automatic transmission for diesel and gasoline engines that improves fuel economy by 4 percent to 7 percent.

    Skyactiv-MT: Six-speed manual transmission that provides a roadster-like shift feel.

    Both the new scalable vehicle architecture and the Skyactiv technology package will need to be truly effective to give Mazda a financially sustainable future as a stand-alone company.

    This month, the Japanese automaker predicted it will close the 2012 financial year – which ends March 31 – with its fourth consecutive net loss, albeit reduced to 19 billion yen (about 184 million euros) from 60 billion yen (about 581 million euros) the year before.

    On the volume side, Mazda expects lifting sales to rise about 1.31 million units in the current fiscal year from 1.27 million in fiscal 2011.

    The automaker is not expecting Europe to help grow sales this year: The company forecasts that sales in the European region, which also includes Russia, will decline to 204,000 units from 212,000 units the year before.

    Mazda is pinning its hopes on the arrival of the CX-5 and is confident it will help it make a technology-driven comeback in Europe after a five-year decline in unit sales.

    The automaker plans to sell about 40,000 units a year of the CX-5 in Europe, roughly a quarter of its global volume.

    Monthly E-Magazine
    Thumbnail
    View latest issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Automotive News Europe Monthly E-Magazine

    Sign up to receive your free link to each monthly issue of Automotive News Europe as soon as it's published.

    GET THE E-MAGAZINE
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584


    Email Us

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • News
      • Photos
        • Geneva Photo Gallery
        • Beijing Photo Gallery
        • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
        • Paris Photo Gallery
        • Shanghai Photo Gallery
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • Sales By Market
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Latest Launches
      • Sales and Retail
      • Car Cutaways
      • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
      • Geneva Auto Show
      • Frankfurt Auto Show
      • Paris Auto Show
      • Beijing Auto Show
      • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Luca Ciferri
      • Douglas A. Bolduc
      • Paul McVeigh
    • Maps
      • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
      • Powertrain Map of Europe
      • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
    • Supplements
      • Connected Car
      • Talk From The Top
      • BMW 100
      • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Automotive News Europe Congress
      • Rising Stars
      • Eurostars
      • Leading Women
    • E-MAGAZINE
      • Read the latest issue
      • Download the app
      • Subscribe
    • More
      • E-Magazine
      • Contact Us
      • 2019 Media Kit
      • About Us