The Chevy Malibu lost one of its fiercest rivals in the way of the Ford Fusion when the mid-size sedan was discontinued in 2020. Now, with mid-size sedan sales continuing to trend downward, the Chevy Malibu has lost yet another one of its closest competitors: the Mazda6.
In a press release sent out Monday, Mazda confirmed that it would discontinue the Mazda6 in the United States at the end of the 2021 model year. The departure of the Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover was also confirmed this week, with the Japanese automaker citing changing market conditions as the reason behind the two models’ departure.
“For more than 100 years, Mazda has successfully navigated shifting consumer needs and an ever-changing industry with beautifully designed vehicles that are fun to drive,” the automaker said. “As consumer interests continue to evolve, Mazda will discontinue CX-3 and Mazda6 for the 2022 model year for the US market. Although these two vehicles will be leaving our lineup in the US, we are proud of the performance, design, quality, and safety they contributed to our brand.”
Unconfirmed rumors allege the Mazda6 will return for the 2023 model year as a premium sport sedan with an inline-six engine, rear-wheel-drive and an available six-speed manual transmission. This would represent a major departure from the Mazda6’s budget-minded philosophy and would differentiate it from current inexpensive front-wheel-drive-based rivals like the Malibu, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
Like Ford, GM is beginning to shy away from passenger cars like the Chevy Malibu in favor of crossovers models, which are currently in higher demand than sedans and typically have stronger profit margins. This has left the future of the Chevy Malibu nameplate in doubt – especially since other Chevy sedans like the Cruze and Impala have been canned in recent years as well.
The current ninth-generation Chevy Malibu was introduced for the 2016 model year and comes standard with a turbocharged 1.5L LFV four-cylinder engine producing 163 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, a GM nine-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel-drive. A turbocharged 2.0L LTG engine is also available, which makes 250 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Production of the North American-spec model takes place at the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas City. The sedan is also built at the GM Bupyeong plant near Seoul for the Korean market and the GM Jinqiao North plant in Shanghai for the Chinese market.
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Comments
Hmm. Not surprising that this is the first I’ve heard of this even though I work at a Mazda dealership. But many times the dealers are the last to find things like this out. Oh well, the CX3 is certainly not a loss as it’s cramped, noisy as heck and just doesn’t sell well. The 6 also doesn’t sell well (really doesn’t sell hardly at all), but it’s a very nice car. In fact, I feel it’s the nicest Mazda offered with great looks, nice features and a price that isn’t bad. But as we all know too well, the sedan market is going away. Too bad because the 6 is so much nicer than the 3 in nearly every way.
well, I’m not sure that Mazda is abandoning the segment. In fact I think they are investing in it. The next gen Mazda6 is set to be a longitudinal inline six RWD biased platform. If that’s the case it would be right near the top of the list for my next vehicle, if they could keep pricing under 40k.
My driveway is slowly losing American made Chevy’s and gaining Japanese made vehicles… wish Mary Barra would stop conceding market share and make more competent vehicles. Instead she is focusing on selling BEVs, that only a handful of people actually want.
So the mainstream vehicle that is the Mazda6 of today could be reborn as a premium offering. That is the literal definition of “abandoning the segment” to reposition the offering as a lux D-segment product.
And if that happens, why would anyone would buy that over a 3 Series, C-Class, CT4 or CT5? There is one reason, and it’s price. Unfortunately for Mazda, Genesis already has the “value luxury” space accounted for with the G70, bringing me back to my original question: why would anyone buy the “reborn” Mazda6 premium/luxury sedan?
Because their interiors are already nicer than the entry CT4s… CT4’s are also plagued with the notoriously lackluster 8spd. I believe that there is plenty of room in the value luxury market, but I guess we’ll see. It’s just refreshing to see a manufacturer making progressively better cars, as opposed to Chevy’s C segment which is continually moving backwards. Listen, I’m well aware you’re all in for lowercase gm… I’m just not.
First you wasn’t buying a TB, now the CT4 isn’t it. What other GM sedans won’t make your list before they hit the used car lot for you?.
Well, the TB is literally junk as it’s currently offered. The CT4 is a decent offering. The rest of your question is worded kind of incoherently, but yeah… There aren’t a lot of lowercase gm products on my short list of vehicles to consider.
As said I said in the other thread, talk with your wallet. I’m sure GM will miss you…
Well, if you look at market share trends, they seem to be missing more and more people. But keep ignoring what people actually want and what sells in volume. Great business plan 👌
Well I’m seeing it all the time. Many co workers that used to own GM’s are now into a foreign make with Honda, Toyota or the South Korean twins as the main choices. GM’s marketshare continues to dwindle. My entire family was a GM family during the 50’s to the 80’s. Mom and I are the last holdouts with a Cruze and Impala. Our next cars will be foreign since GM refuses to sell anything we like these days.
I’m a gm enthusiast because I like to buy domestic, but why would I waste my money on a company like lowercase gm has become. They are investing more money over seas and less money here in the US. Meanwhile, the Japanese and Korean companies are investing their money at home and in the US, in skilled labor to produce B/C segment vehicles people actually want. It’s a little sad when companies like Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota are investing more in the US than lowercase gm. I’m loyal to gm to an extent, but I’m also not dumb.
So that product you’re calling junk… people are buying it left and right, and are paying top dollar for it, more than any other vehicle in the segment.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/04/chevrolet-trailblazer-sales-numbers-figures-results-first-quarter-2021-q1/
So junk to you, but not to others who actually vote with their walleet.
You sound defensive, why? If the product is so good it will speak for itself over time… Paying top dollar? Lol, lowercase gm is already putting thousands on the hood of the TB… And I guarantee average transaction price of the the Kia Seltos and Mazda CX-30 are thousands of dollars higher than the TB because they are better vehicles.
This guy is completely nuts fellas, don’t bother engaging him. If he had anything better to do he’d run along to forums for the Korean and Japanese brands he thinks so highly of.
h4cksaw: Wrong on the part of the CX30. Mazda and dealers have been discounting the CX30 since about a month after it was introduced. In many cased (and before the micro-chip shortages/inventory issues), the CX30 could be purchased for several thousand off MSRP. I know. I work with Mazda.
Where do you come up with your alternate set of facts? I can’t speak about the Kia seltos, but I’m certain they are not selling for thousands higher than the TB.
Your facts sound a lot like opinions too, what is your source, besides just what you say? I just know what I’d pay… for the TB max like $25k, for the 1.6t Seltos I’d pay $27k… I honestly haven’t test drove the cx-30 2.5t, but I guarantee it’s a way better overall vehicle than the TB.
h4cksaw: So you admit you are giving your opinions? Great. I do have opinions, yes. But when I actually work at a Mazda store and see what I see, drive them daily, sit in them, see the R/O’s and cars in for service, speak with the techs, encounter actual problems, deal with the customers who have the problems and on and on and on. Kind of gives what I say a little more than an opinion.
One of my opinions is that anyone buying a Japanese brand vehicle is a sellout. Clearly opinion. What I see and encounter daily and what JD Power reports is not opinion. Just a couple examples for you.
JD power is a joke of a company. They are paid for by manufacturers, which is essentially like buying an award. Car and Driver, Edmonds, and US News… You know legitimate reviews… Always score the B/C segment Mazdas as some of the best in class. The fact that you think JD power is an honest review is laughable.
What in the f#ck is lowercase gm and why do you keep saying it? You’re already typing gm in lowercase anyhow, no need to preface it with redundancy.
Lowercase gm is a state of mind for the ultra woke. If you don’t know now you know. Mary saw fit to spend unnecessary money to change a logo most people don’t even know exist just to further advance her agenda… I just find it amusing to say lowercase gm because the logo used to be capitalized.
So did you say “uppercase GM” when GM’s logo was capitalized?
Woke or unwoke, General Motors still remains the biggest purveyor of automobiles in the United States and is also the healthiest from a financial standpoint. Clearly that means GM’s products are resonating with the target market. Meanwhile, only you and those in your immediate vicinity care about the fact that the Kia Seltos has a few more horsepower than the Chevy Trailblazer.
I can’t speak for others, but I will speak for myself.
It is not about being all in or all out. It’s not about rooting for anything or anyone. It’s about seeing reality.
Your version of reality can be summed like so: everything GM does is bad. You won’t buy the Trailblazer because is has a few measly ponies less than a Kia Seltos, and you think that this is an opinion shared by everyone. Everything that GM does, to you, is sub-par. Does that about sum it up?
But the fact is that reality is completely different. Here is the reality: GM is taking a strategic approach to its business and is winning today, while setting itself up to win tomorrow in an EV and AV world.
Not everything gm does is sub-par. The Malibu premier is nice. Just every new vehicle under 30k is sub-par… And market share tells the story. Just look at the Corolla sell 30k units per month… It’s an issue, even if you want to address it. They cut the Cruze and Sonic and the Bolt doesn’t make up those lost sales… Not even close.
So h4cksaw: I’ve read the 4 posts from you here. Although there’s the “rumor” of Mazda doing such a car, there’s also a very small likelihood Mazda will do it. In order for that car to make it, they would need to charge a huge premium for it and Mazda doesn’t have the mojo now and probably won’t ever. Not under the Mazda badge. I think Alex Luft said the rest well.
As for Mazda’s interiors being better than the CT4? Wrong 100%. I am in every Mazda every work day of the week. I personally drive a CT4. Our dealership also carries Volvo and they get great reviews for their interiors. I also lease a 2021 S60 Inscription. I am here to tell you that this bashing Mary and GM interiors is getting old. The interior on my (base) CT4 is much nicer than Mazda’s and as nice or nicer than the Volvo’s.
Lastly, GM (and all the brands) are making and selling what people are buying (this what Guestt is saying about voting with their wallets). GM is doing quite well and all electric is the way this world is heading weather you like it or not. And BTW, it’s too bad you are selling out to the Japanese brands. Sad.
You drive your CT4 when you can keep it out of the shop for random noises…. Meanwhile Mazda currently offers a better value proposition in the compact segment than lowercase gm. Market share over the past 2 decades tells the tale… as far as BEV sales go… Good luck with that. Maybe lowercase gm will start accepting doge coin, too? Go woke, go broke.
h3cksaw: Thank you for bringing that up. Yes, I had exactly one noise that the first (moron) dealership failed to even remotely try and find. All the lazy tech did was eat donuts in my car while pushing on parts in a lame attempt to find the noise. Had that dealership actually listened to what I told them, they would have found it. Was I frustrated? You bet. But I’m also a realist and know cars are far from perfect. So I called my selling dealership and they actually listened to what I told them. In no time flat, they isolated the noise, found the source and fixed it by re-routing the cable to the correct location. They only had the car for 4 work days and that was only to test drive it on several mornings to be sure they fixed it. Beyond that, my CT4 is fantastic and I like it better than the Volvo.
All this doesn’t change the fact that you are attempting to sell others on Mazda being such a nice car. If you think they are so great, then go with god and get all the Mazda’s you want. Are they better or have nicer interiors than GM? No way.
We do have one Mazda in our driveway… It has been flawless through 50k miles. No 4 day fixes.
Congratulations. But before you brag too much, you would be doing yourself a favor by looking at the true results from JD Power and other sources that tell the real story about Mazda’s and how they constantly rank well below Chevrolet and Buick (as more mainstream brands). And if I recall, you own a CX3 which says a lot. Enjoy your noise bucket.
Well for half the price of your caddy and not being in the shop at all… Seems like a pretty great deal. It’s also far more enjoyable to drive than anything gm has ever offered in the b/c segment. The reviews from nearly every third part echo the superiority of the cx3 to anything in the segment from gm… honestly. I own the closest competition gm offers with Sonic hatchback and my wife’s cx3 is a better vehicle in every way. I couldn’t imagine getting a Trax, Trailblazer, or Bolt they are all a step backwards, in terms of driving experience, in my opinion.
Good for you h4cksaw. Glad you like your little CX3. Not half the price of my caddy, but good try. But it is half the car of my caddy. Has any of your huge plastic panels popped off yet? How about your screen? Go totally black yet? How many times? Has the dash began to peal and crack yet? How about the bone-jarring ride? Or the noise? Yup, that CX3 is one great little car.
Lol a CT4 realistic MSRP is around 35k at the time of it’s release you could get a CX3 for around 20k… Pretty close to half price.
Well I’ll say this as far as ct4 and ct5 interior, on my screen they don’t look as reinventive as far as passenger dash design and don’t give off a wow factor on my screen. But someone at my work showed up in a ct5 and I took a look inside and it definitely looks much better in person. As fo Mazda moving up market they have something that genisis doesn’t which is a legacy brand name. As great as genisis cars look they are still struggling with being a knockoff. What hurts Mazda moving up market is why I bought one 11 years ago was the affordability for what it was. Also I heard that Mazda will use a BMW engine for the mazda6 replacement like Toyota did for the supra
mazda is developing its own inline 6 that it will share with toyota.
people forget that Toyota owns part of Mazda. And Mazda actually owns part of Toyota as well. Mazda isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They are company that continues to steal market share in Buicks space and, in short order Cadillacs. You would have to be out of your mind to think that an Encore GX is a nicer vehicle than the cx-30 2.5t.
h4cksaw: Now I know you are either just delusional or smoking something really strong. Please give us something to check on your alternate facts. You won’t because you don’t have it. You are pulling stuff out of your ars at this point.
Well I did say I heard but maybe that was old rumors. I like Mazda. Mazda is Mazda so they can’t build crap there’s nothing to fall back on as a small company. I’d also like to buy american. Cadillac is making good looking cars but people I know say don’t ever buy Cadillac based on reliability. But you only live once
Rwd…hope Mazda sparks something in GM/Ford for a mainstream sedan instead of some CUV replacement.
I think for GM you’re going to see more EV’s fill the sedan role. It’s much easier to have single models with lower sales volumes with EVs instead of ICE vehicles. A single EV factory could turn out several EV’s with the only real difference is the body style and interior layout. You remove all the transmissions, engine combinations, and necessary emissions components.
lowercase gm is stagnant under Mary Barra and the rest of their profit over production upper echelon. I’m not holding my breathe for anything new and exciting that people actually want. The new hummer is an absolute joke.
Riiight. Bringing two dozen new EVs, all of which will turn a profit, is the definition of “stagnant”… said no one, ever.
lol you mean just 2, right? and they’re both called the Bolt… nice.
Alex you are correct. Sedans will survive but only in lower volume more expensive luxury till EV moves in.
Once EV is here GM’s new EV platform will give them the option to do many low volume models like coupes and sedans at a profit.
how do you know they are going to turn a profit? aren’t you jumping the gun there? i bet they haven’t turned a profit yet on any of their evs.
China is turning a profit with all the lithium they are selling LG for the batteries…. lowercase gm is a joke. Mary Barra is weak leadership. She’s already got one foot out the door as she has already pawned off half of her gm shares.
The mainstream RWD sedan boat sailed in 1980.
Yes, and the BEVs are just flying off Chevy’s lots. They literally can’t give them away on leases.
Judging by the rather large $9500 rebate plus tax incentive I would say they are only selling at all because of the discounts and that few are buying them at anywhere near cost. Sounds like a loser to me!
Tell Dodge that…
With what? The Chrysler 200 was FWD before that died.
Last time I’d checked the Charger and 300 is still available. Because it isn’t boring Camry competition doesn’t mean it isn’t mainstream.
Charger is a sports car. A mainstream platform doesn’t have a Hellcat edition. Their front page of the Charger shows burnouts.
300 is a luxury sedan. It starts at $31k. A CT4 is $33k and thus is comparable. A charger is also $30k. A mainstream Corolla is $20k.
A “sports car” seen on rental lots, cab stands and hiding on highway ramps?, I guess the Encore is all – terrain since it’s awd…
As said a sedan don’t have to be direct Camry competition to be mainstream just as the Ridgeline is compared to BOF pickups despite Odyssey underpinnings.
Last time I got a rental Charger was 2017. Got several Nissan Altimas recently, also seen Jettas and Corollas. I know a number of companies with global warming reporting requirements passed them down onto corporate car rental contracts.
Don’t know where you live but I’ve never seen a Charger taxi. All have been either CUVs and vans due to handicap accessibility laws, or hybrids due to city air pollution pressure.
Cop cars are purposely sports cars, so I don’t know what point you’re making there. Not like the Crown Vic was a mainstream car in the last 20 years of its life.
Took me a while but I’ll bite.
You getting a rental Charger years ago and living in nowhere don’t validate the Charger don’t get used as a cab or at Avis on the east coast.
As said a cop car is nowhere near a sports car, was the W-impala, Lumina or Tahoe a “sports car”?. You must be an insurance adjustor for one of those rip off companies if you define that as such.
To be fair Chevy did sell the RWD SS sedan for a few years. This was an amazing drivers car plagued with a high base price and similarities to the eighth gen Malibu. If they were to have made a base model with the 3.6 NA or the Camaro’s 2.0t 275 hp output. Starting at around 33k to 35k it probably would have done fairly well. But regardless, try finding one that is lightly used, that’s cheaper than the MSRP when it was new. They are holding their value and in some cases selling for more than MSRP.
Ford on the other hand came out with the 2.7tt Fusion Sport and the 3.5tt Taurus SHO. Which would have been amazing cars if it wasn’t for their weight. The weight could have been overlooked if they were RWD biased AWD cars, but they were FWD assisted with AWD. Again, these cars lightly used can be sold for more than the MSRP then they were new.
None really sold well, Ford was probably aiming for exclusive sales or to bring in a younger base. While Chevy was trying to get rid of excess parts, and fulfilling a contract from the Aussies. If wasn’t for the decline in sedan sales right now. I would say it’s a good opportunity to bring back a sport sedan under Chevy. Utilizing the older alpha chassis like the Camaro but in sedan form. Instead of using Cadillac’s engines, utilize the sixth gen Camaro’s engine lineup. In doing so they wouldn’t be making similar cars to Cadillac, as they are using a more updated chassis and different engines.
P.S. Yes the LTG and LSY are similar, but one has been reworked for better NVH levels and cylinder deactivation. The LSY was designed to be mated to the 10 SPD for RWD based cars and 9 SPD for FWD. Whereas the LTG can be mated to the 8 SPD RWD or 9 SPD FWD.
Not really canceled unless you consider the Cadillac ATS has canceled. It’s coming back as a rear drive sports sedan in 2023, possibly under a different name.
IMO the Malibu should see another generation with a slight growth in size and should share a lot with a new Regal sedan.
Well the Malibu and Regal already share quite a bit considering they have similar architectures and engine. If they wanted to, they might be able to get away with selling the Regal as the Malibu. But I’m unsure with the agreement with PSA when GM sold Vauxhall and Peugeot to PSA. That might be their limiting factor with selling the Malibu in that configuration.
The Regal was treated like a bad red headed step child by Barra and never had a chance under her misguided leadership. Making Buick an all CUV lineup was asinine and they have lost plenty of customers that would have loved to check out a Regal hatch or wagon as a competitor to the Subaru offerings that sell plenty well! They could easily have consolidated the Malibu and Regal line under one factory roof and slimmed the linup down to mid and high end trim level for the regal hatch and wagon. If I could get a dime for every person I spoke to that had no idea the Regal even existed or was available in a wagon I could be a rich guy. Also for the dealers that refused to stock these cars or GM that refused to advertise it!
The Regal was destined to be a failure by GM design and nothing else.
Edit: Not Peugeot but Opel. My fault.
I have always thought of the Mazda 6 as the best Midsize sedan. Very Sporty ride and the best interior in the segment by miles. But the Infotainment System was seriously lacking and the overall Tech was not up to todays standards. And obviously the Price didn’t help it at all.
GM, should put it best effort forward for one last time. Go for best in class performance and looks. They will gain an economic share of the market worldwide.
How bout a Malibu SS 2 dr with a V8. Probably never happen under Mary Barra. I’m also convinced nothing exciting will happen as long as she’s the CEO.All GM has on their brain are EVS,SUVS and Pickups. Ford, GM and Chrysler will be sorry leaving the sedan market to the Japanese and Koreans especially while Biden is President,
A two-door Malibu SS with a V8 you say? Sounds a lot like the Camaro SS Coupe on sale today, that no one is buying.
You might want to consider the target market and the associated business opportunity (or lack thereof) before coming up with awesome ideas for products.
The current Camaro isn’t selling because GM screwed up the beltline and gave it a bunker like interior, gave it zero back legroom, gave it a near useless trunk, overpriced the V8 models and then mucked up the styling. The new Corvette is a 2 door V8 powerhouse coupe that is selling and one that was done right. The Challenger and Mustang continue to outsell the Camaro so once again it is GM’s fault for the lower sales and nobody elses!
Malibu is a nice driving car. This doesn’t mean, however, that it shouldn’t have been replaced with a lightly reskinned Impala (Consumer Reports fav), or Lacrosse therefore giving Chevrolet a size/luxury advantage when competing against Toyota, Honda and Kia.
The C/D sedan segment must evolve if it’s going to thrive and offer more than niche product when compared with CUVs. Four door coupes need better visibility, maybe a sport back option like Regal, and even AWD as standard like many popular crossovers.
With Ford, Stellantis and now Mazda not building sedans, it’s the perfect time for Chevrolet to offer something new, I suggest Cutlass, on Lacrosse’s paid for bones as a N American one off with moonroof and sport back.
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hacksaw why don’t you just kill yourself since everything american is so awful.