Mazda has announced that it will significantly expand its SUV line-up over the next two years between 2022 and 2023, with five models set to be launched, including the CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90. According to the Japanese carmaker, this is meant to offer customers a more diverse range of SUVs to choose from, depending on the market they are in.
Let’s start with the CX-50. This will be a new midsize crossover that the company says belongs in the Small Product group just like the Mazda 3 and CX-30. Like those models, the CX-50 will be built on the Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture and come with all-wheel drive, although further powertrain details are unknown for now.
Despite the name, the CX-50 is not a direct replacement for the existing CX-5, as Mazda considers the latter to be one of its core models and will continue selling it in markets. Mazda also states that the CX-50 will be introduced in the United States this November, with no other major markets being listed for now. Production of the model will take place at the new Mazda-Toyota joint venture factory, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, USA (MTMUS), in Huntsville, Alabama.
Two other models that are also destined for the US as well as the North America region are the CX-70 and CX-90, both part of Mazda’s Large Product group. Developed specifically to cater to consumers there, who typically prefer “larger models with a big presence,” these SUVs are described as having a wide body type and will come with two rows of seats in the CX-70 and three-row seating in the CX-90.
More significant is the fact that both will ride on the company’s new longitudinal, rear-wheel drive platform (likely the Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture) and feature Mazda’s much-awaited turbocharged inline-six cylinder and plug-in hybrid powertrains, which the company has announced previously.
The company says that while the CX-50 and CX-70 are new additions to its SUV line-up in the US, the CX-90 will replace the current CX-9 over there. It should be noted that this isn’t the first time that Mazda has done a US-specific model, as there was the Mazda 6 Ultra previously, which was a larger version of the second-generation model.
As for the CX-60 and CX-80, these models will not come to North America, as they are designed for markets “with narrower roads and smaller parking lots” such as Europe and Japan. Mazda also puts “etc.” in the list of major markets that will receive these SUVs, so they could make their way to other countries in the future.
Both the CX-60 and CX-80 have a “normal body type” and are likely smaller than the CX-70 and CX-90. While not explicitly stated, they will likely be underpinned by a longitudinal platform as well, although the powertrain offerings are considerably different for the CX-60 and CX-80, unlike the upcoming US models.
Options include plug-in hybrid setups with inline-four petrol engines combined with an electric motor, which will be joined by a new generation of Skyactiv-X petrol and Skyactiv-D diesel straight-six engines augmented by a 48-volt mild hybrid system.
Moving away from the new models, Mazda also confirmed that it will introduce a range extender version of its first mass-production electric vehicle, the MX-30, during the first half of 2022. This will use a rotary engine as an onboard generator, although the specifics are unknown for now.
The post Mazda CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, CX-80, CX-90 coming in the next 2 years – RWD platform, inline-6, PHEV, MHEV appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
0 Comments