As Mazda NZ prepares to became one of the first brands in the world to host a formal vehicle launch over Zoom, pricing and range for the upcoming CX-30 crossover have been confirmed.
The sleek, coupe-like SUV will be available in three different trim-levels initially; the front-wheel drive 2.0-litre GX, the all-wheel drive 2.5-litre GTX, and the all-wheel drive 2.5-litre Limited. The highly anticipated flagship Takami variant, complete with SkyActiv-X powertrain, will join the trio later in the year.
The Mazda CX-30, pictured with its larger CX-5 cousin
Pricing begins at $41,490 for the GX, with the GTX and Limited listed at $44,990 and $50,990. All models will follow the same premium-tilt as 2019's Mazda3, which in part explains the pricing difference relative to the much cheaper $35,490-$38,890 Toyota C-HR.
Read more: The zoom-zoom brand embraces Zoom - Mazda to hold New Zealand’s first ‘virtual’ car launch
As reported earlier, the firm had already been pre-empting the impacts of Covid-19 on the CX-30's launch prior to New Zealand's Alert Level 3 and Alert Level 4 lockdown.
“We had already factored in that we were going to have one person per car,” said Mazda NZ marketing services manager Maria Tsao. “So we were already practising social distancing; but then it came through that it was a requirement.
“And actually that sounded quite good for the conference, because we had fewer than 100 people and on the test drive everybody was going to be in their own [CX-30-shaped] bubble.
“But then lockdown happened. We thought we would still like to launch the CX-30 to media; it had to be a virtual launch, we just didn’t want to have it too far in advance of NZ coming out of lockdown.”