CarExpert understands the Mazda 3 hatch and sedan range will receive an update in Australia this year, though it’s unclear just what it will entail.
A report from Japan suggests no major exterior or interior design changes are in the offing for 2023 – perhaps unusual given the Mazda 3 is on schedule for a mid-life upgrade.
Creative Trend does, however, report the range will upgrade from an 8.8-inch infotainment display to a larger 12.3-inch unit, while CD/DVD players and HDMI ports will be abolished.
Current Mazda 3 interior
It also says these updates will appear in Japan in the northern spring, or between now and the end of May.
The 12.3-inch unit would see Mazda offer one of the largest infotainment screens in its segment, and a larger system than most new Mazdas. The upcoming CX-60 offers a 12.3-inch screen, but only in GT and Azami trim levels.
The current, fourth-generation Mazda 3 was launched back in 2019, though the range has received some changes since then.
A flagship Skyactiv-X powertrain joined the range in 2020 and a 24V mild-hybrid version of the standard 2.0-litre petrol powertrain followed in 2021, while various manual variants exited.
Mazda also introduced a turbocharged, all-wheel drive flagship overseas, but sadly this is being produced solely in left-hand drive.
The Mazda 3 remains one of the stronger sellers in its segment, though it’s no longer quite as menacing a threat to the dominant Toyota Corolla.
Mazda sold 9639 examples in 2022, down 31.8 per cent and representing 12.1 per cent of the segment, and behind the likes of the Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato and Toyota Corolla.
The Corolla logged 25,284 sales, down 12.1 per cent and representing 31.8 per cent of the segment.
In 2018, the last full year of the previous generation, Mazda sold 31,065 examples of the 3, narrowly behind the 35,320-unit figure of the Corolla.
MORE: Everything Mazda 3
