Mazda2 being considered for U.S. market

Compact hatchbacks have for long sold poorly in the U.S. but with fuel prices rising and customers shifting to smaller cars a number of carmakers have revealed their desires to bring the economical runabouts Stateside. Mazda is one such company, and is currently considering adding its Mazda2 hatch to its North American lineup.

In addition to the new hatch, Mazda is also studying plans for selling diesel engines in the U.S. for the first time. The news comes from Mazda’s U.S. Chief Jim O’Sullivan, who spoke recently with TheCarConnection. “We’re not ready to make the announcement but obviously we sell diesels in Europe,” O’Sullivan said during a recent interview. “The Mazda2 is extremely successful in Europe and Asia. We’re continuing to watch that space in North America.”

For now Mazda is concentrating on finishing the launch of CX-9 and preparing for the revamped Mazda5 and next-generation Mazda6. But O’Sullivan said there was a lot of promise for both C and B segment models. “We see the car market here in the United States becoming more like the European market. By that I mean C cars are continuing to grow and B cars are becoming more prominent than ever before,” he said.

Ford has already confirmed it would launch a U.S.-specific version of the new Fiesta hatch, which the Mazda2 is based on, but that car will likely be a sedan so as to leave the market open for a compact Mazda hatch.

2009 Ford Fiesta