Subcompact Segment Heating Up!
Canadian Auto Press

It’s a no-brainer for Mazda, which is why we’ll be seeing the Japanese automaker’s 2 in North America within a year’s time.

2011 Mazda2

Currently the Mazda3 is the smallest, least expensive product Mazda sells, and while it does very well and enjoys a strong following of performance- and style-oriented compact buyers, it can’t compete directly with Toyota’s Yaris, Honda’s Fit and a bevy of other subcompact models that don’t cost as much and therefore appeal to a segment of the entry-level market Mazda simply misses out on time and time again.

The Mazda2, known as Demio in Japan, has been rumoured to be heading to North America ever since fuel prices and concerns about financial stability changed the game and consumers started spending less for smaller, thriftier cars. Now it is official, with Jim O’Sullivan, President and CEO of Mazda’s North American Operations, having announced that the Mazda2, which incidentally shares its underpinnings with upcoming Ford Fiesta, will hit showrooms in the U.S. and Canada towards the end of 2010.

“You’ve asked us for it for a while now, and we’ve been studying the market to make sure we can make a business case for it across North America,” O’Sullivan told a group of dealers. “As consumers’ tastes and attitudes toward small vehicles have changed, we now believe strongly there is a place in our lineup for a car below our current least-expensive car, the Mazda3. Mazda2 will be true to everything that makes our cars stand apart from the competition: it will be stylish, fun-to-drive and a heck of a value. In short, it will be Zoom-Zoom.”

O’Sullivan gave no other information about the car, although the press release stated that we can expect to see the littlest Mazda make its North American debut this year in Los Angeles.