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Since Mazda confirmed that it is working on a rear-wheel drive architecture for large cars, hopes have been high that the automaker will develop a new rear-wheel drive sports sedan.
The on, off again… back on again saga is seemingly off, again.
According to Mazda’s annual report presentation published last week, the company described the launch of the CX-80 in Japan, Europe and Australia as “completion of our big four product range globally”.
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Now the narrow body is five-seater CX-60 and the seven-seat CX-80, as well as the wide five-seat body CX-70 and seven-seater CX-90are introduced in their respective markets, Mazda will make “full efforts to develop and increase the volume of large products” to around 200,000 vehicles per year.
With its announcement last week, Mazda appeared to quash reports in the Japanese press that it would develop a rear-wheel drive successor to the well-respected but aging 6 sedan and station wagon.
The current front-wheel-drive 6 was launched in 2012 and has been withdrawn from many key markets, including Japan and North America, although it remains in production for Australia and a few other markets.
In 2022, Mazda bucked automotive trends with a rear- and all-wheel-drive platform with a longitudinal engine layout, as well as new inline-six petrol and diesel engines with support for mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid settings.
Hopes for a rear-wheel-drive sedan were most recently raised in September 2023, when Best Car Web reported the CX-90’s success encouraged Mazda executives to approve a new coupe-style four-door sports sedan using powertrains borrowed from the large crossovers.
If our reading of the corporate tea leaves is correct, that means the only rear-wheel drive Mazda sedan in the works is EZ-6.
Unveiled at the recent Beijing Auto Show, the EZ-6 looks like a slightly updated Deepal SL03 from Mazda’s Chinese joint venture partner, Changan.
Set to go on sale in China from late 2024, the EZ-6 is a rear-wheel drive sedan-style liftback with a choice of plug-in hybrid and all-electric powertrains. The EZ-6 could be sold in Europe as the 6e, a name Mazda registered there.
With the drop of the Ford Falcon in 2016, the Holden Commodore in 2017 and Kia Stinger in 2023, Dodge is among the last mainstream brands globally to offer a rear-wheel-drive gasoline-powered large sedan.
Earlier this year, it introduced the next generation Charger sedan and coupe. While the hottest members of the new lineup will be all-electric variants, less powerful versions of the new Charger will be offered with the company’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six engine.
Pricing for the new Charger has yet to be announced, but the outgoing model starts at US$35,325 ($52,800) for the naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6, with V8 models starting at US$42,960 ($64,200).
By comparison, the V6 Holden Commodore Evoke starts at $35,490 ($42,900 in today’s money), while the manual V8 Commodore SS starts at $47,490 ($57,400 today) in 2017.
MORE ▼: All Mazda 6
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