There have been rumors circulating for years about a rear-wheel-drive Mazda6, but the company is still selling the same midsize sedan that has been in its lineup since 2012. In March 2022, Joachim Kunz, Mazda Europe’s development and engineering boss, stated in an interview that the new platform would not be used to create a next-generation Mazda6. He also mentioned that a large sports coupe is not part of their plans.

While Kunz admits that having a sedan with RWD and an inline-six engine would be nice, market trends indicate that people prefer SUVs. Currently, there are no official plans for a Mazda sedan with six cylinders and rear-wheel drive. However, according to Japan’s Best Car magazine, there has been a change of heart unofficially. This change is not driven by a sudden increase in sedan popularity, but rather by the strong customer response to large SUVs equipped with this type of hardware.