Four years ago, CEO Masamichi Kogai predicted Mazda would be notching annual U.S. sales of 400,000 vehicles by now. Instead, it is in a second-straight year of decline, with volume under 300,000 and market share retreating from an erstwhile goal of 2 percent. Now Kogai says the U.S. resurgence will start in earnest in 2019 and kick into overdrive in 2021 when Mazda adds an all-new crossover designed for and built exclusively in the U.S.
Giving first details of the new nameplate in a Nov. 16 interview, Kogai said it has potential to be the brand's best-seller. He said it would slot into Mazda's three-vehicle crossover lineup without cannibalizing the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9.
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