According to Japanese blog livedoor, Mazda are looking to introduce a 7 seater variant of the popular CX-5 to the local market with international exports to follow.
But doesn’t the CX-9 already fulfill that requirement? Well yes and no, internationally the CX-9 is a big hit but within Japan the vehicle of choice is the people mover, of which Mazda have three models. Sales of people movers in Japan have remained steady while their SUV line up has grown both locally and internationally prompting a re-allocation of resources away from people movers and towards SUV’s. The Mazda MPV people mover has already ceased production late last year and the remaining Biante and Premacy models are expected to receive the same treatment down the line.
The two most viable options for a 7 seater CX-5 are to either add collapsible children’s seats to the rear of the current model or re-engineer the chassis into a longer length to accommodate the extra seating.
A 7-seat Mazda CX-5 will provide an alternative to the 7-seat Nissan X-Trail and upcoming 7-seat Volkswagen Tiguan. Said to be available prior to the end of 2017, it’s expected that the 7 seater CX-5 will arrive with the familiar SkyActive-G 2.0 and 2.5 liter petrol engines and 2.2 liter diesel engine.
