Mazda to offer CX-50, CX-5 as hybrids, automaker confirms

The CX-50 will initially use Toyota technology, but Mazda's developing its own hybrid systems, too, for the CX-5 and others

Jil McIntosh

Published May 15, 2024 • 3 minute read

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2024 Mazda CX-5 Suna Edition Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

Mazda will add hybrid systems to its CX-50 and next-generation CX-5 SUVs
It currently collaborates with Toyota on hybrids, but will develop its own for the CX-5
Mazda plans to introduce up to eight new all-electric vehicles globally by 2030

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Mazda plans to add hybrid versions of the CX-50 and next-generation CX-5 to its lineup, along with a new electric vehicle (EV) that will be built on the automaker’s first electric-specific platform. And while the CX-50 will use a hybrid system sourced from Toyota, Mazda plans to develop its own version for the CX-5.

That’s according to the company’s annual financial report, released in mid-May. Currently, Mazda in Canada offers the CX-70 and CX-90 models as either mild hybrids or plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and the all-electric MX-30. In April of this year, Mazda unveiled the CX-80, its first three-row SUV in Europe, which also comes with a mild hybrid or PHEV powertrain. It will be sold “mainly” in Europe and Japan, Mazda said, with no mention of it coming over to North America.

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Earlier this year, Mazda announced its collaboration with Toyota on EV systems, along with its goal of introducing seven or eight new EVs by 2030. The early models would have about 90 per cent of their in-vehicle systems from Toyota, meaning the hardware and software that controls the vehicle’s functions.

In the financial report, Mazda said it achieved year-on-year growth over its last fiscal year, including its highest sales in the U.S. since 1990. It aims to achieve global sales of 1.4 million vehicles in fiscal year 2025, which would be an increase of 13 per cent. Much of that is expected to be led by the automaker’s largest vehicles, even in overseas markets that normally aren’t as fond of large-by-huge as buyers are in Canada and the U.S.

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During its most recent fiscal year – March 2023 to March 2024 – Mazda sold 375,000 vehicles in the U.S.; 77,000 in Mexico; and 61,000 in Canada, that last one an increase of 26 per cent over the previous year.

2024 Maxda CX-50 Photo by Brendan McAleer

The CX-50 hybrid is expected to launch in the second half of the upcoming fiscal year, and Mazda is introducing it “to meet demands for hybrid models and contribute to sales growth.” It also plans to improve growth in North America by increasing production at its plants in Mexico and Alabama. That American plant is a joint venture with Toyota, and it builds the Mazda CX-50, plus the Toyota Corolla Cross and Corolla Cross Hybrid.

With the introduction of the new CX-50 in 2023, we thought the CX-5 might be ready to ride off into the sunset; but while a timeline wasn’t given, the plan is to “equip next CX-5 with a Mazda-developed hybrid engine,” so it looks like it will definitely live on (although given that this is a global report, it could still be up in the air as to whether it stays on in our market).

Mazda also plans to introduce the new EZ-6, as an all-electric and PHEV, to China this year, using technology from its collaboration partners. In 2027, expect to see an EV built on Mazda’s first EV-specific platform, although the report didn’t specify if it will be an in-house project or also built with assistance from Toyota. We’re betting on the latter, but we’ll have to see when the final project is unveiled.

Jil McIntosh

Jil McIntosh specializes in new-car reviews, auto technology and antique cars, including the two 1940s vehicles in her garage. She is currently a freelance Writer at Driving.ca since 2016

Summary

· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.

· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology

· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards

Education

Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.

Experience

Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.

An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.

In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.

Major awards won by the author

2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.

Contact info

Email: jil@ca.inter.net

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh

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