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Mazda kills the Mazda6.

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The Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo reports that Mazda is planning to stop production of the mazda6 sedan in the US.
The US version of the Mazda6 is produced at the Flat Rick plant in Michigan. A joint venture with Ford.

Mazda had planned to produced 100 000 units of the mid sized sedan a year.
They only made a bit over 45 000 last year….

So it now looks like the Mazda3 will be their largest sedan offered in the US for a while.
Unless they bring over the Euro version, which is unlikely.

They are also rumored to be considering a less costly plan in Mexico. Pretty much like everyone else….

Sad to see the Mazda6 go. I had the chance to test drive a couple of versions and found them both very good cars.
Better than some other choices out there.

It is sad that Mazda couldn’t find a way to market this good of a car correctly…

Conversation 20 comments

  1. It is sad, but not a surprise. You don't really see any new Mazda 6's on the road. I rented one recently and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable. With the competition of the Japanese big 3, and the strong surge of Korea, where is Mazda's niche in the market. Buyers in this class aren't looking for performance, they want reliability, features, and if they want style they go Korean. Too bad, but at least Mazda will still be around.

  2. There's no way Mazda is letting this segment go. 45,000 cars per year is still a decent part of their business. Mazda is a much more talented and nimble company than Ford. Mfg is just shifting as the two companies officially and physically separate. Remember whats coming: Sky-G engines; new design language; and end of model cycle for 6. I'll bet on a smaller, more efficient, redesigned 6 produced elsewhere coming real soon.

  3. That's insane. How could any brand survive without a bread-n-butter midsizer? The last generation Mazda6 was such a great car, you'd see them absolutely everywhere. The current one seems completely neglected as many of their cars are today, aside from the Mazda3.

    Is Mazda doing this because they're not sharing platforms with the Ford Fusion anymore? Big mistake for both brands.

  4. I was the proud owner of a 2004 manual transmission V6 Hatch. If they still offered this configuration, I'd buy it.

  5. Haven't seen one advertised in years. Success is measured in Marketing; not quality or performance. Just look at Toyota.

  6. That's too bad. This car had great potential. That would be great if they did bring over the Euro 6. But I'm not holding my breath either. I hope Mazda doesn't become the next Mitsubishi…

  7. It's actually bullshit. This car will not die, it's simply where it is manufactured that is changing. It will be Mexico or Japan build. They will certainly sell another version. It's twice the car of either a Camry or Accord .

  8. That's CRAZY! How can they just drop the 6 like that without anything to fill the mid-sized segment?? I was just thinking the other day how good looking the 6 is and how I wish that they'd build another MazdaSpeed6. I owned a 07 Speed6 and loved that car!

  10. I don't think they will really stop production until they have a solution and import the European/Japanese version or something like that. Or they just shift production to somewhere else. Mazda will surely give some answers soon.

  11. BIG MISTAKE! Mazda is about to make a huge mistake. The 6 is a good car. And before the current Sonata, it was more stylish than the Camry, Altima, and Accord. However the 6 interior was never that attractive. Whatever happened to the Mazdaspeed 6. Mazda pigeon holed itself by not offering variants as well. If this is true, It's really sad. It could be the beginning of seeing Mazda go the way of Mitsubishi……boring, and lackluster.

  13. Very good car but this car needed to be great a la Optima/Sonata for them really to compete. Mazda makes very good cars, they handle great (vs the average car), but you really need a knock out blow in the mid size sedan battleground.

  14. Mazda 6 is not going to die. The rumours about Mazda 6 is false. The redesign of Mazda 6 is on the way, and they expect sales will be strong under Kodo language. The first Kodo language will be CX5 that will come end of this year, as 2012 model. CX5 will feature SkyActiv engine bringing at least 40mpg on the highway. Mazda is on the roll, ZOOM ZOOM!

  15. All that has been said is it is not being BUILT in the US…that does not mean it's not going to continue being sold here. You said yourself they're looking at production in Mexico. The 6 isn't going anywhere…

  16. I bought a 2005 Mazda 6 for my daughter and it has been a very reliable machine. And 6s of that era were such a common sight around town that she always joked she saw herself coming and going. The new one, not so much. I think it just got too big and expensive and grew out of its niche.

  18. I had a Mazda Protegé and considered replacing it with Mazda 6 almost 8 years ago. The '03 Mazda 6 was a good car, but sluggish off the line because its Ford transmission's first gear felt too tall for the 4 cylinder engine in the model I tested. Ended up with a Honda Accord which drove much better and has been excellent.

    So much competition in the mid-sized sedan segment that Mazda had trouble competing, especially against the Ford Fusion which is much the same car.

    The Mazda 3 hadn't yet been introduced when I bought the Honda, and might have considered the 3 which seems to have been a better car in many respects than the Mazda 6, anyway.

    The only Mazda 6 sedans I see in San Francisco are rental cars (bar code on rear door window). No surprise that the Mazda will concentrate on the 3 along with its new Mazda 2, 5, and Miata which are much more popular.

  20. Actually, Mazda has denied that the 6 is about to disappear:

    https://www.DropCatch.com/domain/leftlanenews.com

    The previous, smaller version of the 6 featured a total of 3 different body styles and offered something unique in the midsize class. The new, bloated, North Americanized 6 has not a single special quality about it relative to other cars in this class. Hmm…

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