Mazda CX-50 Debuts in China With A Hybrid Powertrain

The Chinese market is getting the new Mazda CX-50 SUV with a partially-electrified HEV powertrain.

The new Mazda CX-50 SUV has officially made its landfall in China, but this “lifestyle wide-body SUV” will be offered in a slightly different powertrain setup than the rest of the world.

As confirmed by Changan Mazda, a joint-venture between the Japanese marque and Chinese automotive firm, the China-bound CX-50 will use a series-parallel hybrid (HEV) powertrain instead of the full-ICE ones offered in other international markets.

The CX-50 HEV borrows its hybrid powertrain setup from the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

Interestingly, the CX-50 HEV will get its petrol hybrid powertrain from Toyota, specifically the same unit used on the RAV4 Hybrid SUV. Using a 2.5-litre 4-cyl petrol engine as its core, this HEV setup comes in either a single-motor 2WD or a peppier dual-motor AWD configuration. On its own, said petrol mill is rated at 176 HP and 221 NM, while the electric motor outputs 118 HP and 202 NM as standard.

Mazda CX-50 HEV previewed at the Shanghai Motor Show last year

Previewed at last year’s Shanghai Motor Show, the CX-50 HEV represents the marque’s first step towards electrification, with Changan Mazda planning to introduce more electrified models as part of its electrification plans for the Chinese market. According to said plan, the CX-50 HEV will follow two upcoming electrified models, with two of them appearing to be sedans rather than SUV crossovers.

These two upcoming sedans will be offered in both plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric (PHEV) forms, though it remains unclear whether these would be the direct replacement of Mazda’s current sedan models on sale in China, the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6.

Mazda said the new CX-50 (left) won't be the direct replacement for the current CX-5 (right)

On the topic of replacement, Mazda insisted that the CX-50 is not the direct successor to the famous CX-5 SUV, with said model will be getting a replacement some time later in the future, possibly featuring a hybrid powertrain too. Despite boasting similar design cues as the bigger CX-60 and CX-90, the CX-50 does not share the same Large Product Group platform as said models, with this SUV actually using the extended version of the Small Product Group platform underpinned by the Mazda 3 and CX-30.

Unfortunately, it appears that the CX-50 won’t make its way to any right-hand-drive (RHD) markets soon, with Mazda Australia confirming that this SUV model won’t make its way into the Land Down Under. While local Mazda vanguard Bermaz Auto has yet to make a statement regarding this matter, it is safe to assume that we’re also not getting the CX-50, with the firm recently launching the facelifted CX-5 SUV into our market.

We're currently testing the facelifted Mazda CX-5 2.0 High!

Speaking of the CX-5, we’re currently testing out the facelifted Mazda CX-5 in its mid-spec 2.0 High form. Don’t forget to read our take on this updated SUV model, which will be out on Caricarz.com very soon…