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This Is What a New Mazda 6 Could Look Like

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What Mazda is currently offering in China and a few other global markets is the Mazda 6e. A new electric sedan that is essentially a reworked version of a Chinese-developed model from Mazda’s local joint-venture partner. Mazda does not see the 6e as a new version of the 6 sedan. A car that should really come back to North America to compete against the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

Many sedan enthusiasts continue to dream of a proper successor to the Mazda 6. For a while, the brand considered a new sedan while developing its rear-wheel-drive large platform, which is now used by the CX-70 and CX-90.

That architecture, combined with brand-new inline-six engines and plug-in hybrid technology, seems almost tailor-made for a sporty, relatively upscale sedan. A rear-wheel-drive Mazda 6 with an inline-six or plug-in hybrid powertrain could have been a very interesting alternative to the usual German luxury sedans. It would also fit nicely with Mazda’s recent effort to move further upmarket, particularly in terms of driving dynamics, materials, and interior quality. It could also have been offered with a PHEV powertrain.

The Mazda 6e has already received very positive reviews in Europe, particularly for its styling and ride quality. Building a second midsize sedan is even harder to justify. There simply isn’t much room for two sedans of roughly the same size, especially when the overall sedan market continues to shrink.

North America would be a different story. The 6e isn’t currently sold here, and Mazda has no sedan positioned above the Mazda 3. In theory, a larger rear-wheel-drive Mazda sedan could give the company something very different from the many front-wheel-drive-based sedans that remain.

But the numbers are difficult to ignore. U.S. sedan sales have fallen dramatically over the past decade, and even the Mazda 3 sedan appears to be living on borrowed time.

Canada presents a more interesting possibility. If Chinese-built EVs become easier to bring into the Canadian market, the 6e could potentially provide Mazda with an existing electric sedan without requiring the company to develop an entirely new one. Canada has also remained somewhat more receptive to sedans and electrification than the U.S.

With the current Honda Accord and Toyota Camry still selling very well in the US, I really wish Mazda had something to offer over here.

The illustrations above show what a new Mazda 6 sedan could look like. Something not too crazy and yet more stylish than the current Camry and Accord. It also shows a new design language for the brand in general. Something that I think is badly needed. That same front end with the big grille just has to go. After all these years of that same face on everything, it’s time for something new.

Conversation 3 comments

  1. This is what a pipe dream could look like. Mazda sales are falling especially its large vehicle platform but that also now includes the new and very beige CX5. Zoom-zoom is gone and there is no 6 or 6e in our future.

  2. Mazda’s Chinese sedan is only popular in China because sedans are popular there. The American market is completely uncorrelated, where midsize sedans are an afterthought and the 3 is basically a dead man walking.

    And they might as well commit seppuku if they invest in a new product with two separate body styles for a segment they’re already drowning in, or a new midsize sedan that will appeal to 1% of the market.

    If they’re smart, they’ll just end up consolidating both the 3 Sedan and 3 Hatchback into a single liftback body style design closer to the size of the old 6 (basically the Vision X-Coupe Concept, but in reality it would probably be something like a fastback CX-40 or an affordable Polestar 4) with no unique trims, body styles, alternate drivetrains, or performance variants, and they’d probably have to absorb costs by amortizing components from the CX line to build it on a budget.

    They need one body style that blends the best of three or four older body configurations together, and buyers can take it or leave it. It’s inevitable if they want to stay in the black.

    For small companies like Mazda, the future won’t be about having choices or making a unique statement… they already have the MX as their statement piece. For every other model it will be about consolidation in order to concentrate on the category that appeals to the biggest possible audience, not three or four different niche products that 99% of buyers aren’t interested in.

  3. First, the market for cars (sedans and their coupe/hatchback variants) is 17% of the market in 2025, not 1%. Even sedans alone aren’t 1%. They’re big business for some that know how to make a decent one – ask Honda, Toyota, the Hyundai sisters, and BMW. That was the problem all along – GM, Ford, etc… treated them like entry level garbage.
    Second, Mazda’s red ink started flowing again (after years of post-Ford profits) as soon as they acquiesced to prevailing market trends by making forgettable also ran SUVs (CX70, CX90 and the forgettable new CX5). Their unique cars have done well.
    Third, you can’t be a niche car maker AND be focused on the largest segments delivering what everyone else is.

    Its that go-along with everyone mindset that kills car makers.

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