Mazda are learning, and they’re learning fast – people have been complaining about the accessibility of some of their models, and the company is now rumored to be seriously adjusting their views on pricing behind the scenes. And judging by a recent revelation by the company about the MX-5, this might just be true.
Martin Benders, who currently heads Mazda Australia, was talking to Car Advice last week, and he revealed that the company is trying to make the MX-5 more attractively priced, as they want to bring in larger numbers of younger buyers, competing with the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. According to him, the company has seen the clear potential for this market, watching releases made by their competitors, and they’re ready to adjust their own pricing in order to remain competitive and offer customers something equally attractive.
Additionally, it’s been confirmed that the 2015 Mazda MX-5 will come in two versions, one with a 1.5 liter engine and one with a 2.0 liter one. Both will be available in Australia, and the company is apparently hoping to secure a serious portion of that market for themselves. Of course, knowing how popular certain brands are locally, this might prove a bit challenging, but Mazda is also not an inexperienced company.
It’s not known how much exactly the new MX-5 is going to cost, although it’s easy to guess based on those recent statements by the company. The latest installment in the series was priced at around $47,000, and this was deemed too high for most buyers in the younger segment on the market. On the other hand, Toyota’s offer starts at $29,990, while Subaru are also aiming for that price range.
So, if Mazda want to compete with these companies, they should realistically try to give the new MX-5 a price tag of around $30,000. Perhaps slightly more could be seen as acceptable for most buyers, but going towards $35,000 would be pushing it, if they want to attract younger drivers as they have stated.
It remains to be seen how much the new MX-5 is going to cost, although many enthusiasts have already been expressing their interest in potentially getting the new car if the offer is attractive enough. If Mazda manage to succeed in their goal and capture the portion of the market they were aiming for, this could really change things, and force other companies to improve their offers if they want to remain relevant as well. From then on, 2016 could shape up to be a very interesting year for car enthusiasts interested in something in the medium range.