Mazda today announced that its upcoming three-row SUV, the North American market-specific 2024 CX-90, will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain in addition to the previously confirmed inline-six. Moreover, the automaker claims that the new PHEV powertrain will help improve the performance of the new three-row SUV.
“The CX-90 PHEV will maintain the responsiveness, performance, and driving dynamics that define Mazda vehicles,” writes Mazda. “This all-new e-Skyactiv powertrain, tuned specifically for the North American market, will provide customers with the best of both worlds in terms of performance and efficiency.”
While details such as power and efficiency for Mazda’s first-ever plug-in hybrid for the U.S. market remain a mystery, it is anticipated that the new PHEV powertrain will share much in common with the European CX-60. That model combines a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, which together make 323 hp (240 kW/327 PS) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque.
Read: Mazda Teases 2024 CX-90 Flagship SUV For USA, Confirms Inline-Six
Additionally, Mazda revealed in November that the CX-90 will get an inline-six-cylinder engine. Details for that powertrain are also under wraps ahead of the SUV’s full unveiling, but at the time, the automaker promised that the model would be “an elegant, bold and powerful instrument of emotion, crafted and designed to curate and enhance every experience you share with it—inside and out.”
Designed primarily for the North American market, the three-row CX-90 is one of three new SUVs that the automaker is adding to its U.S. lineup, alongside the CX-70 and the CX-50. The CX-60 and CX-80, meanwhile, are also part of the automaker’s SUV push, but the narrower vehicles are intended primarily for Europe’s tighter roads.
It’s unclear if the CX-90 will replace the CX-9 or be sold alongside it. Like the CX-9, it’s a large, three-row SUV, but Mazda has taken the decision to sell the CX-5 alongside the more rugged CX-50.
One way or another, the automaker promises that the CX-90 will be the “boldest expression of Mazda design to date.” We will find out just what that means in January 2023, when it unveils the new model.
