Mazda will unveil a plug-in hybrid SUV based on the new platform on March 8.
The Mazda CX-60 will be the first model to use the new rear-wheel drive system, according to a press release from the company in the UK. Suggested several years ago, the new platform is a major departure from the front-wheel drive platform used by all of Mazda’s current SUVs.
Mazda aspires to be a premium brand, so it promises premium materials and a unique design theme for the interior of the CX-60.
Introduction Mazda CX-60
The design will embody the Japanese concept of Kaicho, which Mazda describes as the harmony that comes from mixing different materials and textures. Said materials will include Nappa leather, maple trim, Japanese textiles and chrome, according to Mazda. Car maker note: The Japanese Musubu tie weave also inspired the CX-60’s dashboard stitching.
After trying to avoid electrification by increasing the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, Mazda unexpectedly announced a long-term electrification strategy last year. The automaker is planning dedicated EV platform mid-decade, with numerous plug-in hybrids and hybrids before that.
Some of those hybrids would include cooperation with Toyota—Although the United States does not share electric vehicles with Toyota. The two automakers announced plans to collaborate on electrification technology in 2017, and recently opened a joint assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama, where the Toyota Corolla Cross crossover is currently built.
Currently, Mazda is calling rotary engine version of the MX-30due in the United States next year, a series of plug-in hybrids. The MX-30 is Mazda’s first regular production electric vehicle, but its EPA-rated 100-mile range doesn’t really match that of other current EVs.
Launching hybrids and plug-in hybrids goes against what Mazda has emphasized for years — and its own internal findings from the last decade: motorists prefer all-electric or internal combustion models to hybrid or plug-in hybrids.
