Back in May, sources for Australian magazine Wheels said Mazda planned to introduce a new CX-50 crossover at next month’s L.A. Auto Show. That vehicle, we were told, would be the spearhead for a range of models sitting on Mazda’s new longitudinal, rear-wheel-drive platform and powered by straight-six engines we’ve hankered after for XXX years. The source was correct, Mazda announcing today that it will release five new crossovers for various markets in 2022 and 2023. The first will be the CX-50, which we’ll see in L.A. in November and sit on the on the small platform that supports the Mazda3 and CX-30. It enters production next January at the Huntsville, Alabama plant that’s part of Mazda’s joint venture with Toyota.
After that come four crossovers built on the Mazda’s new Large platform. The two-row CX-60 and three-row CX-80 are for international markets with narrower roads and vehicle infrastructure, like Europe, Japan and Australia. The two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90 — the CX-90 will come first — are for the U.S., built with wider bodies, “big presence,” more interior room, and all the gas-powered ponies Americans demand.
As is the standard now, powertrains will be dispensed based on market location. The U.S. can expect the new Skyactiv-X 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance and a plug-in hybrid using a 2.5-liter four-cylinder heart that we’ll suppose is sourced from Toyota. International markets will also get access to the new Skyactiv-D 3.3-liter diesel-powered inline-six with mild hybrid help, and they’ll get a plug-in, too. All the new CX products will come standard with all-wheel drive.
The CX-5 remains in the lineup here as a less expensive alternative, offering a front-wheel-drive trim on an older platform with an older engine. Australian outlet Drive said its local lineup would retain the CX-8 and CX-9, so there’s a chance our CX-9 (pictured) holds on as well.
The automaker mentioned that alongside this product push, the MX-30 will get additional marketing love as it becomes the champion for “modes which incorporate multiple electrification technologies that use a rotary engine as a generator from the first half of 2022.” There’s your Wankel, and a potential place to put the new e-Skyactiv R logo and branding. Come 2025, Mazda plans to have a dedicated EV platform supporting a new battery-electric product line. Company bosses want every model sold to be electrified by 2030, and for EVs to make up a quarter of sales by then.
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