The Japanese marque doesn’t go into any details about how it plans to electrify the CX-50, other than saying it will feature a traditional hybrid powertrain. That tells us it won’t be a PHEV and could likely inherit the technology from Toyota. The two companies have already joined forces to build the factory in Alabama where the compact crossover is produced.

We also know it will come with all-wheel drive as standard as Mazda has pledged to sell all its CX-badged in the United States with an AWD system beginning with the 2022 model year. Another electrified crossover due to arrive soon will be a hybrid MX-30 equipped with a range-extending rotary engine.

Not only that, but Mazda will roll out a bigger SUV with two rows dubbed CX-70 and a three-row CX-90 on a new rear-wheel-drive platform with plug-in hybrid, inline-six powertrains. Over in Europe, narrower CX-60 and CX-80 SUVs with two respectively three seats will get the same architecture and PHEV versions. The company’s smaller cars will embrace a plug-in hybrid setup based around a smaller four-cylinder engine.

All four electrified crossovers and SUVs are due to hit the market by late next year. Mazda is working on a dedicated EV platform that will make its debut on a production car in 2025. All models will be electrified to some extent by 2030, with a quarter of annual sales projected to be purely electric models. Meanwhile, three EVs are scheduled to arrive between now and 2025.

Source: Mazda

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It’s set to enter production in January 2022 at the new Huntsville, Alabama plant built together with Toyota. As with all CX models going forward, the CX-50 is going to be offered with standard all-wheel drive. In the beginning, it will be sold only with conventional gasoline engines, namely a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter unit or a turbocharged mill with the same displacement. Both will be linked to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Further down the line, a hybrid CX-50 will follow, but it’s unclear when it will arrive during the compact crossover’s life cycle. We do know it’s going to feature a “traditional hybrid” setup, which likely means it won’t be a mild hybrid or a plug-in hybrid. Mazda promises that additional details about the electrified model will be announced in due course.

The CX-50 is being marketed as a more rugged-looking alternative to the CX-5 thanks to the chunky plastic body cladding on the square wheel arches, while the addition of a roof rack accentuates the crossover’s outdoorsy nature. The company claims it has reinforced the B-pillars and door jambs, along with adding a panoramic moonroof, making its debut on a Mazda product.

It’s worth noting the CX-50 is kick-starting an SUV onslaught as CX-60, CX-70, CX-80, and CX-90 models will follow on a new rear-wheel-drive platform with inline-six gasoline and diesel engines developed with electrification in mind. These will come in mild-hybrid and PHEV configurations, with the two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90 coming to the US with wider bodies. Their equivalent narrow-body siblings, CX-60 and CX-80, are earmarked for Europe. All four are slated to hit the market within the next two years.

Source: Mazda

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