Beauty is more important than profit.
Mazda provided wallpaper material when it revealed the stunning Vision Coupe in October 2017. This car is the only one that can be described as a “four-door coupe”. It didn’t take long for rumors to spread about the sleek sedan being put into production, much to the delight of no one. Four and a quarter years later, the car has vanished. It seems unlikely that it will ever happen.
Why? Three letters: S., U., and V. Joachim Kunz, Mazda Europe’s engineering chief, stated to Autocar, “it’s very important to sell SUVs.” “It would be very nice… to possess the FR [front engine, rear-driven] concept as well as the six-cylinder engine for a Mazda 6 successor. This is a quick reminder that the large sedan will not take the RWD route in order to compete with the German trio: BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
We wouldn’t be surprised if the 2015 RX Vision has a road-going version. SUVs have priority. Mazda will bring back the rotary engine, but it will only be used as an extended-range engine for its MX-30 hybrid crossover. The MX-5 will continue to be a RWD sportscar with a gasoline engine in its NE generation. This is at least one comfort.
Joachim Kunz explained the reason why some exciting cars are being put on hold: “This SUV trend continues, and even more Mazda. It’s the best selling model. Autocar casts doubt on the future of the 6 sedan. Zoom-Zoom has been talking about the CX-60, CX70, CX80, CX90, and CX-90 SUVs. However, they have not spoken about the aging saloon. There are no spy photos of a replacement for the third-generation car, which has been in existence for over a decade.
Mazda is still a small automaker so it makes sense for them to invest in SUVs and then go from there.