Next-generation Mazda CX-3 confirmed for Japan and ASEAN in 2027 as Mazda 2 continues in Australia

What Mazda's integrated report announced

Mazda published its Integrated Report 2026 this week, and CarExpert reports it contains a clear plan for the brand's entry tier: a next-generation Mazda CX-3, second-generation for that nameplate, will be introduced in 2027. The document states the new compact SUV will be produced at Mazda's Thai factory and launched in the Japanese and ASEAN markets, where it will take over the entry-level role currently held by the Mazda 2. ¹

The report's wording, translated from Japanese, says the new model is intended to “as a new-era entry-level model replacing the Mazda 2” expand Mazda's value proposition in a new way. CarExpert notes this is a corporate planning statement for Japan and ASEAN, not a global discontinuation announcement for the Mazda 2, and that Mazda has not confirmed a fourth-generation Mazda 2 anywhere. ¹

Crucially for local buyers, Mazda Australia told CarExpert it has no plans to drop the current Mazda 2 hatch and sedan, which have been on sale locally since 2014 and have received two facelifts in that time. “We can't comment on future product plans, but we can confirm that Mazda 2 will continue to be sold in Australia well into the future,” the company said. CarExpert's report does not establish an Australian launch timing or replacement timetable for the next-generation CX-3. ¹

Production timing and the Thai factory commitment

Separately, CarExpert reported in May that Mazda confirmed in a financial results presentation that the next-generation CX-3 will enter production next year at the AutoAlliance Thailand plant, a facility Mazda shares in a joint venture with Ford and which also builds the current CX-3. Mazda said it aims to steadily capture the volume segment with the new compact SUV. ⁴

Mazda has announced an investment of 5 billion Baht, about A$233.8 million, in its Thai operations to produce electrified small SUVs, alongside design sketches released in 2025 previewing what appears to be the new model. Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro said at the time that the vehicles to be produced would be “high performance compact SUVs that meet international standards, both in terms of environmental friendliness and hybrid technology”. CarExpert reports this likely means some kind of mild-hybrid or hybrid powertrain, noting Mazda has committed to four new hybrids this decade starting with the CX-5 in 2027, but no specific powertrain details for the next CX-3 have been confirmed. ⁴

The sketches show a small, rounded SUV with headlights similar to the new CX-5, rounded tail-lights and what appears to be Mazda lettering across the tailgate, according to CarExpert's May report. The integrated report adds only that production is planned for Mazda's Thai factory; exact on-sale dates per market, specifications and prices remain unannounced. ⁴¹

The new model's production plan comes as the current CX-3's global footprint has been shrinking for years. CarExpert reports the nameplate was discontinued in Europe and the US in 2021, and production for the Japanese market ended in February 2026, while the current CX-3 has lived on in Southeast Asia and Mexico, where it is also built. The integrated report's Japan and ASEAN plan formally marks the nameplate's return to Japan as an entry model rather than the outgoing compact SUV. ⁴¹

Mazda Australia's position on the Mazda 2 and CX-3

Earlier this year, CarExpert reported that Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi had ruled out any imminent local withdrawal of either nameplate. “There are some articles floating around that [Mazda 2 and CX-3] are coming to an end, and I can confirm Mazda 2 and CX-3 will be in our portfolio this year, they'll be in our portfolio next year, and it's an important segment for us,” Mr Bhindi said. Taiwanese outlet TVBS's motoring channel separately reported Mr Bhindi saying Thai-built supply of both models can continue at least to 2027, even as Japanese-market production of the Mazda 2 has reportedly stopped. ⁵²

“At some stage there could be replacements, but right here right now those two cars, those two nameplates, are here to stay in our portfolio because they will comply with [Australian Design Rules], they will continue to be manufactured in our Thailand facility, and therefore we have access to [them],” Mr Bhindi told CarExpert. The integrated report's Japan and ASEAN plan leaves the local portfolio question to Mazda Australia, which has not announced a next-generation CX-3 for this market. ¹⁵

Mazda Motor Corporation's global general manager for marketing and sales, Manabu Osuga, would not confirm to CarExpert whether both the current CX-3 and Mazda 2 will be replaced globally. “Whether we go with making the size [of the new vehicle] Mazda 2 equivalent or Mazda 3 equivalent, or we prioritise the price coverage, that is the discussion we are having [at a global level],” he said, adding that Mazda's commitment is to cover the customer base and consumers' needs in each individual market. ⁴⁵

Vision X-Compact: a design vision, not a confirmed preview

At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo, Mazda displayed the Vision X-Compact concept, which CarExpert notes echoed the shape of the Mazda 2 hatch, though the company said it was not necessarily a preview of the next-generation model. The sketches for the Thai-built small SUV and the Vision X-Compact are described by CarExpert as very similar-looking. ¹⁴

Mr Osuga told CarExpert the concept is a design vision intended to test the next generation of Mazda design, and that global feedback was positive. “[However], this is not really intending to apply that design theme to the, let's say, next generation of the Mazda 2. [It's] under discussion whether we want to prepare the Mazda 2 successor or not,” he said. TVBS's report suggests the concept is likely to serve as an important design reference for future compact models, echoing current 2 and CX-3 positioning with a five-door, city-oriented shape, but that remains the outlet's characterisation rather than a Mazda confirmation. ⁵²

The ageing entry models and where they stand locally

The current Mazda 2 and CX-3 share the same platform and, per the TVBS report, have served for more than a decade, with updates over the years including automatic emergency braking and the dropping of diesel options, while remaining petrol-powered as competitors add hybrid and electric drivetrains. According to the same TVBS report, Mr Bhindi said internal development resources are limited and cannot advance all product plans at once, with priority given to the large rear-drive SUV family (CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90), the next-generation CX-5 and electrification technology, pushing small-car renewal to 2027 or later. The CarExpert interview contains no such development-priority statements. ²³⁵

The entry pair still sells strongly in Australia despite their age. CarExpert reports 15,429 CX-3 deliveries in 2025, down 16.4 per cent on 2024 but enough to again top the light SUV class, making it Mazda's second-best seller behind the CX-5, while 4346 Mazda 2s were registered, down 19 per cent and second in the light-car class behind the MG3 on 8350. TVBS cites the same 2025 figures and notes the CX-3 held 29 per cent of the light SUV class, ahead of the Toyota Yaris Cross on 10,928. ⁴⁵²

Both nameplates were still holding their ground into the current year: CarExpert reports the Mazda 2 held just under 20 per cent and the CX-3 just over 30 per cent of their respective VFACTS segments as of February 2026. ⁵

Both models remain on sale now. According to CarExpert, the Mazda 2 range starts from $27,290 and the CX-3 from $30,670, both excluding on-road costs, with the price-leading base grades of each axed last year. The nameplates have local history reaching back further than their current generation: CarExpert notes the Mazda 2 arrived locally in December 2002 replacing the 121 Metro, the CX-3 launched in Australia in 2015, and local CX-3 production has been sourced from Thailand since 2023. ⁵¹

The wider context explains why entry models remain strategically useful to Mazda Australia even as the corporate focus shifts. TVBS reports the current CX-3 and Mazda 2 pricing sits far below the local Mazda new-car average of about $56,740, and CarExpert notes the VFACTS light-car segment accounts for just 2.6 per cent of the Australian new-vehicle market so far in 2026, down from 8.4 per cent in 2003, while the CX-3's small-SUV segment holds 3.7 per cent. Rival light nameplates including the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and Honda Jazz have exited local showrooms since the current Mazda 2 debuted, leaving the Polo, Swift and MG3 among the few remaining petrol light cars. ²¹