New Mazda CX-3 or CX-4 SUV to debut at Geneva

Mazda is set to debut a new SUV model at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, which has already been confirmed for Australian sales – possibly before the end of 2019. Not much is yet known about the car, though it’s set to sit on the same new SkyActiv platform as the latest Mazda 3 and possibly debut the company’s SkyActiv-X engine.

Media outlets from around the globe are speculating as to which model this new SUV will be – the CX-5 is too new to debut a new model, while the CX-3 is barely four years old, which is also too soon to display an all-new car. Most are tipping that it will be a new addition to the global range, and sit between the CX-3 and CX-5 in size.

Sonia Singh, Senior Manager of Public Relations at Mazda Australia told Chasing Cars that “Mazda has a very well received CX SUV range in Australia and we are excited to share more information soon.”

Debuting either a new CX-3 or CX-4 SUV could solve potential issues that exist in the Mazda SUV range. Despite the CX-3’s strong popularity in Australia, it’s simply too small for some buyers, and increasing its size to around the dimensions of the Nissan Qashqai could see it win favour with even more buyers in markets like the United States and Europe. The Mazda 2 basis of the current CX-3 is obvious as well, and adopting the Mazda 3’s platform, mechanicals and styling could make the CX-3 a more premium entrant into the small SUV segment.

Yet the rumoured addition of a CX-4 to the range is also quite intriguing. Mazda nerds will know that Mazda already sells a CX-4 – just not in Australia, or anywhere but China, for that matter. Produced solely in and for Chinese consumption, the CX-4 debuted in 2016 and borrowed much from the CX-5, including its mechanicals. Yet the CX-4 has remained in China thanks to a lack of production sourcing internationally – most of Mazda’s factories are running at capacity. The addition of the CX-4 would give the company a more aspirational and stylish SUV to sell locally.

“As a brand-new addition to the Mazda line-up, the SUV offers refined quality in all the areas that matter to drivers. It features the maturing Kodo design language and Mazda’s new-generation Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture, which draws out people’s inherent balance ability.” said the company.

“The powertrain line-up comprises the latest Skyactiv engines, including the revolutionary Skyactiv-X, which adopts a unique combustion method to combine the free-revving performance of a gasoline engine with the superior response of a diesel.”

Chasing Cars will be on the ground at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, where we’ll bring you the latest news from the show, including the new Mazda SUV.