Mazda's Not Giving You 5 next Year
After 12 years on the market, and nearly 75,000 sales in Canada, Mazda Canada has announced the end of the line for the Mazda5 mini-minivan after the 2017 model year.
It's not much of a surprise as buyers have been shifting away from smaller three-row vehicles like the 5 for some time. The Mazda5 was already discontinued in the US for 2015. That leaves the 2017 Kia Rondo as the last of the small three-row vehicles. Buyers are moving to smaller crossovers like Mazda's own CX-3, trading some interior space and two small seats for the crossover look and all-wheel drive.
The official statement says that Mazda will "focus on providing continuous improvements to our award-winning CX-line of crossover vehicles." They are hoping that if you were interested in the 5 that you'll like the 2018 CX-3 or 2017 CX-5 even more. If you need that third row, the one in the 2017 CX-9 is far more spacious than the 5's was. Those vehicles are also based on newer Mazda platforms that have the brand's Skyactiv technology suite and available all-wheel drive.
The 5's best years in Canada were 2007 and 2008, selling nearly 12,000 cars in each of those years. Since then, sales dropped quickly, with just 1,617 last year, and even the last four years combined couldn't match either peak year.
The model may continue for the rest of the world, but production for Canada will end this November.
