Mazda's new SUV flagship will kick off a European PHEV offensive
Mazda’s all-new CX60 SUV will be the first of two models from the firm’s ‘Large Product Group’ due on sale in Europe by 2024.
Officially previewed in the run up to its unveiling on 8 March, the CX-60 will be the first plug-in hybrid Mazda has launched. It will be followed by a larger CX-80 – which will add a third row of seats – and the new range-extender version of the MX-30 EV, which will use a small rotary petrol engine as a power generator.
Official details of the CX-60 remain thin on the ground, but Mazda has confirmed it will pair a 2.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor for a combined power output of more than 296bhp.
What is unclear is whether that 2.5-litre engine will be Mazda’s own Skyactiv unit, as deployed in the CX-5, or the 173bhp engine from technical partner Toyota.
This latter is paired with a pair of electric motors – one with 180bhp on the front axle and another with 54bhp at the rear – for a total output of 302bhp, which tallies with Mazda’s 296bhp-plus claim.
Mazda is about to introduce the first European-market vehicle to emerge from this partnership: the Toyota Yaris-based 2 Hybrid, which will be sold alongside the existing 2 for the foreseeable future.
The CX-60 PHEV “demonstrates Mazda’s commitment to a multi-solution approach to sustainable mobility and the principal of the right solution at the right time”, the company said.
It added that the powertrain will offer “smooth, efficient and powerful acceleration giving the driver greater confidence and driving enjoyment in the widest possible range of driving scenarios”.
It will sit above the CX-5 and is expected to command a premium as a result, priced from around the £35,000 mark, when it hits dealerships later this year.
The two new large models will take Mazda’s European SUV count to five, including the CX-30, MX-30 and CX-5. The wider CX-70 and CX-90 (based on the 60 and 80, respectively) will launch in the US and Canada, alongside the rugged CX-50 crossover.
Keyword: New 2022 Mazda CX-60: 300bhp PHEV coming on 8 March