A pick-up from Isuzu, powerful PHEVs, a fresh range of six-cylinder petrol and even diesel engines, SUVs for different regions, EVs made in China: highly profitable, medium-sized Mazda behaves like a major OEM, albeit, a most unusual one.
Such examples are only a sample from what is a complex global strategy for ongoing success. Consider too innovative propulsion systems and a general continued reinvention, all of which help to keep the Hiroshima-based company thriving.
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Will US tariffs clobber Mazda?
Mazda is even doing well in the PRC. The same applies in the USA where April sales volume was 37,660. Locally-built models comprise a mere 19% of that total, however, so tariffs could become a big issue. As ever though, the company will find a way to keep on keeping on: witness its initiative to have Toyota manufacture the CX-50 at a JV plant in Alabama. This was an inspired move, saving the huge cost of erecting its own plant.
Playing to innate strengths and leveraging multiple cleverly chosen partnerships seems to be the overall approach. Why then does hardly anyone pay attention to who runs Mazda? Successive CEOs should be famous, in the style of Akio Toyoda.
It ought to be a source of amazement that the likes of GM, Ford, Stellantis and now equally share price-obsessed Volkswagen fail to have Japanese nationals atop their companies. And why would that be novel? Until recently Volvo Cars was run by a Scot, Nissan once more has a foreigner as chief executive, and so on.
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By GlobalDataIs it indelicate to ponder if any of the extravagantly remunerated bosses of big US- or Europe-based OEMs has ever established and maintained a successful business in China? Now consider Toyota and Honda. They sell lots of cars there and make massive profits. How? Quietly and consistently, always adapting, with a long-term focus.
Quirkiness as a strength
The Mazda approach is just like that of TMC: never be complacent, keep reinventing everything. And should things become challenging, is there is a loud, publicly aired panic followed by violent cost cutting? Hardly ever. Analysts might for example fret about spending on the likes of rotary and diesel engines then downgrade their outlook. Mazda quietly carries on, as it did a few years back when that was happening. All the quirky things help set this company and its cars apart.
What some don’t see is the strategic choices being made. I’ve just been driving a CX-60 and soon, a CX-80 too. Each looks premium, is priced that way, has powertrains which stand out and was developed with target markets in mind. The wider-bodied and differently powered CX-70 and CX-90 don’t come to Europe yet they’re part of the same family. Mazda spent big and spent once. Now it’s reaping the benefits.
Betting that plug-in hybrids would be the best worldwide bet – and it was right – a single engine and transmission combination was developed. This 2.5-litre system also happens to be the company’s most powerful ICE. It works perfectly as a marketing strategy in every country, fuel consumption is low and so are emissions.
Double the sales of Honda in Europe
This brand knows what it’s good at, there is a homogenous image – look how upscale dealerships have looked for a decade or more now – a modest number of models and never a push for volume over margins. Glance at the ACEA registrations data any month and you’ll see Mazda towards the bottom of the by-the-numbers rankings. Then look closer.
In March, share of the EU-UK-EFTA region was 1.3%, which is fairly normal, as were sales of 21,323 vehicles. Yet that’s more than Suzuki, Mini or JLR, not far off SEAT, double Honda’s volume and four times Mitsubishi’s number. Also, might Elon Musk now wonder why he has a factory in Germany when Tesla is only doing about 7,000 cars a month more than a certain Japanese brand? Which sells hardly any EVs. April data were yet to be released as at the time of publication but national sales figures have been: they show what happened in Q1 is continuing.
Do ICE SUVs make more sense than EVs?
Some would ask if it makes any sense to be offering petrol and diesel SUVs to Europeans? It does. I’ll talk about the even more seemingly strange notion of a big SUV with a six-cylinder diesel engine soon but ask yourself this question: which makes more money, the ICE and hybrid CX-80 or, say, the electric-only Volvo EX-90?
I don’t know the detailed answer to this question but I do know that one of these two companies went all-in on EVs when it had no reason to. And it’s the same one which recently announced a big loss and now, its staff will have to suffer savage cost cutting and a sudden shift in strategy.
Mazda believes that net zero is possible via a mix of methods. Even the Wankel engine has a future if it can burn naturally generated hydrogen. This being the same fuel which the Japanese government wishes to steadily shift the majority of the country’s energy needs to. In that context, a matrix of propulsion systems for present and future vehicles is understandable. And so back now to Mazda’s one-size-fits-all 2.5-litre PHEV system.
‘SkyActiv PHEV’ branding & badges
The CX-60 was the first model to feature the company’s four-cylinder and motor combination. It’s a high-output powertrain, the numbers being 241 kW (100 kW from the motor alone) and 500 Nm. The battery, which has a capacity of 17.8 kWh, can be replenished fairly rapidly. You can even drive on ions at speeds well beyond the UK legal limit. And while the quoted maximum is 87 mph in that mode, zero to 62 mph takes a brisk 5.8 seconds. Official CO2 emissions are 33 g/km.
Range in EV mode is 37 miles, so here, many rivals do better. But you can bet that Mazda will already be readying battery and software evolutions to add more distance, matching or beating that of competitor models. Another example of the kaizen approach, along with a spend big when needed then keep tweaking philosophy.
In certain countries there are multiple other drive systems but the 2.5-litre plug-in hybrid is the only one which can operate as an EV. The alternatives include a non-PHEV 2.5-litre I4, a 3.0-litre I6, a 3.3-litre I6 and a 3.3-litre diesel I6. Many of these are mild hybrids, while every CX-60 has an eight-speed automatic transmission sending drive to the rear or both axles. All build takes place at Hōfu H2, one of two main Mazda plants in Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture.
CX-60, 70, 80 & 90: all close relatives
This was the first of a group of new SUVs, debuting back in 2022. Which not only means that any future powertrain and other updates will soon enough also find their way to the CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90. For now though, it’s just the CX-60 which is having a few 2025 model year changes.
The revisions include a new leather covering for the seats in Homura trim level variants as well as a slightly altered dash panel. Engineers have also worked on the handling and comfort, specifying softer springs but firmer dampers for the rear suspension. Stability systems have been recalibrated accordingly, Mazda notes. Aside from one new paint option, that’s the full extent of the update.
Safe safety systems
It seems shocking to say this but I prefer the CX-60 to many allegedly ‘true’ premium brand rivals. Never do the ADAS become overbearing: you won’t be loudly berated for daring to glance over a shoulder when changing lanes, nor is the lane-assist way too sensitive. HVAC functions are all lovely buttons and even the lack of touch operation for the screen is safety-minded: twirling an i-Drive type of controller means your eyes stay on the road.
The 2.5-litre engine and its electric boost provide great performance, the steering is about eight tenths there compared to a BMW X3 while in Sport mode, body lean is well controlled. Comfort is also really very good, passengers have lots of space and that applies to the boot too. Oh, and soft surfacing is the default for the dashboard and door trims, complemented by dark wood-effect trim. Even better, the fingerprint-seeking ‘piano black’ plastic loved by so many OEMs is nowhere to be seen.
Conclusion
As long as you can get your head around a Mazda being quite expensive, then there is no reason not to consider this as an equal for traditional luxury make alternatives. And it does seem that very many British buyers agree: sales in the first four months of 2025 are up by 39.2 per cent to 12,537 cars and SUVs.
Pricing for the 2025 Mazda CX-60 PHEV starts at GBP46,640. Trims are Exclusive-Line, Homura, Homura Plus, Takumi and Takumi Plus. AWD is standard for each. In addition to the 327 PS 2.5-litre Plug-in Hybrid, a RWD 200 PS 3.3-litre diesel is available in the UK (from GBP46,700) as is a 254 PS diesel of the same capacity.
