Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai has revealed some new details on its Koeru Concept which made its debut at the Frankurt Motor Show in September this year.
Dousing speculation that the Koeru previews a performance variant of a nameplate such as the CX-5 or upcoming CX-9, Mazda’s boss said the concept is unrelated to anything in the carmaker’s lineup.
“It’s a totally new car. It’s a lower, sporty SUV. It’s close to a wagon,” Kogai told Automotive News. “The CX-9 rides higher. So does the CX-3 and CX-5. The Koeru aims to generate more driving pleasure.”
The Koeru, a low-profile, fastback five-door crossover/wagon, would be about the size as CX-5, but it will be seen as sportier alternative to traditional crossovers. Kogai refereed the vehicle to the Subaru Outback, saying, “That kind of genre. We’d like to see how it is evaluated globally, so we are collecting customer feedback.”
Any production version that goes up against the Outback would have plenty of volume to draw off but also plenty of loyal buyers to win over. In the U.S., Subaru sold 136,227 Outbacks in November, a 9.8% gain from the year-earlier period. The total is more than Mazda’s combined sales for the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9 in that period.
Source: Automotive News
