A report from UK publication Autocar on Mazda’s upcoming 2/ Demio supermini says that the all-new model will sport an even less aggressive design in order to appeal to Asian and female buyers, the former being the main target audience.
According to Mazda’s European design chief, Peter Birtwhistle, “The car is much more profitable in Asia than it is in Europe and has therefore been designed to appeal to a predominantly feminine customer base. It’s prevented us from putting too much visual muscle into the styling, for fear of scaring people off.”
He does end by saying that “it’s a good-looking car, and I’m happy with the result,” so we’ll obviously wait until we see it before passing judgment – it may even be refreshing without all that aggression that is so commonplace and often forced, especially on offerings on the smaller end of the scales.
Finally, a crossover version of the next Mazda2 / Demio is also mentioned, and since the market is full of them, especially in Europe and demand is very high, it will definitely work, perhaps even better than the regular hatch model.
Expect to see the all-new Mazda2 hit Old Continent showrooms sometime towards the latter part of 2014.
By Andrei Nedelea
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