Japan:Mazda North America may not get the next MPV minivan; small size is big concern - Ford Forums

Stacy94PGT · 05-31-2005, 20:35

Mazda North America may not get the next MPV minivan; small size is big concern

JAMES B. TREECE | Automotive News

TOKYO -- Mazda may not sell its 2007 replacement for the MPV minivan in North America.

"There's a size issue," says Mazda Motor Corp. Chairman Kazuhide Watanabe.

He says executives at Mazda North America Operations believe the redesigned MPV is too small for North American tastes, especially since another small minivan already is on the way to America.

Watanabe says a decision on the MPV has not been made.

Mazda had hoped three new models would give it a greater presence in the light-truck segment and boost sales volume. The models are the redesigned MPV, the new Mazda5 and a sport wagon based on the MX Crossport concept.

Mazda will launch the Mazda5 in the United States this summer. The Mazda5 is a three-row, six-seat minivan slightly smaller than the MPV.

The sport wagon will join the U.S. lineup next spring.

The next-generation MPV is aimed mainly at Japan.

Mazda sold 5,344 MPVs in the United States in the first four months of this year. That was down 22 percent from the same period of 2004.

Mazda had hoped to use both the Mazda5 and the sport wagon to broaden its U.S. market coverage. Jim O'Sullivan, president of Mazda North American Operations, said Mazda could sell both without penalizing sales of the MPV or the Tribute SUV.

"As we grow beyond selling products (in segments) that represent 47 percent of the industry, I think we have the capacity to do it," O'Sullivan said.

"But Mazda has to be Mazda. It has to feel like a Mazda. (Mazda Motor President Hisakazu) Imaki said our No. 1 priority is North America. If we beef up our North American r&d, build up our dealer body with more exclusives, we can't then sit back and not enter additional product segments."