The Mazda CX-50 Borrows Potentcy from the Hybrid Toyota RAV4

The Mazda CX-50, a mid-size SUV available in the US and China, is now offering the option of hybrid power. Interestingly, Mazda has chosen to purchase the engine, electric motors, and battery from the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, which is currently Australia’s top-selling hybrid with a wait time of over two years for certain versions. This move comes after Mazda faced criticism for its own in-house hybrid technology, which is a weaker “mild-hybrid” system that doesn’t provide significant fuel savings. Interestingly, Mazda is not the first car company to purchase Toyota’s hybrid technology, as Subaru has also done the same before.

It’s worth noting that the Mazda CX-50, which was unveiled last year and introduced in 2021, is not currently sold in Australia due to its left-hand drive production. However, it is on Mazda Australia’s wish list, and the company is expected to consider bringing the car to Australia if it becomes available with right-hand drive. Unfortunately, both factories that produce the CX-50 currently do not support right-hand-drive cars. However, the hybrid tech-sharing deal between Mazda and Toyota could potentially pave the way for the next-generation CX-5, which is expected to arrive in Australia in 2025. Toyota owns five percent of Mazda, and the two companies have collaborated on shared models and hybrid technology in the past, including a Toyota hybrid-powered version of the previous Mazda 3 that was only available in Japan.

Interestingly, the Mazda CX-50 and Toyota Corolla Cross are both manufactured in a factory in Alabama, USA as part of a joint venture between the two car companies. While there have been rebadged Toyotas sold as Mazdas and vice versa in the past, the CX-50 is the first Mazda model to feature so much Toyota DNA. In fact, the CX-50’s hybrid system is identical to the one used in the Toyota RAV4, with a 131kW/221Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder non-turbo petrol engine combined with a continuously-variable automatic transmission (CVT), an 88kW/202Nm front electric motor, and a 40kW/121Nm rear electric motor in all-wheel-drive versions, resulting in a combined output of 163kW.

It’s worth noting that unlike Subaru, which will be using Toyota electric motors and batteries paired with its own engine in the new Forester, Mazda has opted to use Toyota’s 2.5-litre petrol engine in the CX-50. This is despite the fact that Mazda already uses a 2.5-litre petrol engine of its own design in the regular CX-50. Interestingly, the similarities between the two vehicles extend even to the plastic cover on the engine, which is identical to the Toyota aside from the Mazda logo. Mazda claims that in Chinese lab testing, the hybrid CX-50 achieves fuel consumption of between 5.1 and 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres, which is significantly better than the 7.4L/100km for a 2.5-litre all-wheel-drive petrol CX-50, or 7.7L/100km for a 2.5-litre all-wheel-drive petrol CX-5. The CX-50’s fuel efficiency is also comparable to its Toyota RAV4 Hybrid donor, which claims 5.1 to 5.2L/100km in China, depending on whether front- or all-wheel drive is selected.

It’s worth noting that the hybrid system used in the CX-50 and RAV4 is different from the one used in the Corolla Cross, which is built alongside the Mazda in the US for North American showrooms. The Corolla Cross uses a 146kW 2.0-litre hybrid system, which is different from the system used in the CX-50 and RAV4. It’s also worth noting that while the Corolla Cross SUVs sold in North America are built in the US, Australian Corolla Cross SUVs are built in Japan.

Photo Source: Mazda USA