Mazda revealed a redesigned version of the Mazda3 on Tuesday, featuring a high-tech engine and advanced safety systems, in a bold bet on compact cars. The Japanese automaker unveiled sedan and hatchback versions of the 2019 Mazda3 at a glitzy event on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Equipped with Mazda’s more fuel-efficient high-compression engine, technology that improves pedestrian safety and simplified infotainment controls, the Mazda3 will hit dealerships in early 2019. The Mazda3 is the automaker’s second most popular vehicle in the U.S., trailing only the CX-5 SUV. But sales fell 14.7 percent in the first 10 months of 2018, reflecting the challenges facing the compact-car segment.
General Motors and Ford have announced plans to stop making most of their passenger cars, while Fiat Chrysler has already done so. Mazda’s decision to bet big on the Mazda 3 stands in stark contrast to several of the other major reveals at the L.A. Auto Show this year: hefty models like the Jeep Gladiator pickup, the Honda Passport mid-size SUV and the BMW X7 crossover.
Mazda is runnng opposite the current trend of producing only trucks and SUV’s but the automaker is hoping to reenergize the Mazda3’s loyal base of youthful fans and passenger-car devotees by adopting advanced safety features, a brand-new high-tech engine and sleek design.
