Mazda’s decision to add a three-row crossover seems to have paid off in a very big way in their home country of Japan. The Hiroshima-based carmaker has just reported that its CX-8 is now their best-seller with reservations hitting three times the monthly sales plan.

As of December 14, the day of its release, the CX-8 reached a peak reservation of 7,362 units.

Mazda notes that a vast majority of buyers, around 43 percent opted for the high-end “L-Package”—the top-end luxury trim that uses materials such as genuine wood and Nappa leather. Out of those buyers, 51 percent opted for the 6-seater configuration (2+2+2) while the remaining got the 7-seater configuration (2+3+2). Buyers also opted for the Mazda i-Activsense driver assistive technology. In terms of color, there’s a marked shift to Machine Gray Metallic (33 percent) with 13 percent continuing to opt for the Soul Red Crystalline Metallic. Demographics-wise, the CX-8 has attracted a lot of buyers in their 30s and 40s.

In Japan, the CX-8 is powered solely by a 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D clean diesel engine with 187 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque connected to a 6-speed automatic transmission. It’s available in both FWD and AWD configurations.

Mazda has confirmed that the CX-8 crossover is headed to the ASEAN market including the Philippines. It’s slated to arrive in the local market by the second half of 2018.