Mazda recently announced it’s building not one, but two new crossovers for the United States and Canada, and car enthusiasts immediately started speculating. The teaser photo is dark and mysterious, with little more than a silhouette and seductively glowing taillights. Experts say the first will be similar to the Mazda CX-4 currently available in China. What the second might be is anyone’s guess.
We do know where Mazda will make the new cars. Right now in Huntsville Alabama Mazda and Toyota are working together to build a $1.6 billion factory. Mazda and Toyota will share the space and build cars they sell in the U.S. right here in the South.
China’s Mazda CX-4 Crossover
Mazda has been selling the Mazda CX-4 since 2016, but only in China. It’s based on the Mazda CX-5, the manufacturer’s extremely popular crossover. It’s larger than the Mazda CX-3, with an additional foot in length and a taller profile. It has the unmistakable KODO design found in all Mazda vehicles with a wide stance and sleek lines.
Its high ground clearance makes it suitable for a range of road conditions. In China, Mazda CX-4 sells with the same i-ACTIVSENSE advanced safety technologies, excellent handling and environmental safety you find in similar Mazda vehicles we sell here in Tyler, Texas.
Is Mazda CX-4 What’s Coming?
The teaser photo looks a lot like the Mazda CX-4 produced in China. In early February, Mazda spokesperson Drew Carey referenced the photo and said Mazda would reveal the car in Geneva, and that car would be coming to the United States. However, that’s all the information he gave. It could have a different name, exterior and powertrain.
The Geneva Motor Show starts Thursday, March 7 and runs through Sunday, March 17.
Second Crossover in the Works
Mazda is being vague about the details. Mazda North America CEO Masahiro Moro told reporters only that the second vehicle will be “a new crossover SUV which is exclusively designed for the North American market.” He said both new vehicles would share the same architecture, and that Mazda is still finalizing the concept for the second.
Crossovers have been wildly popular in the United States. In 2018, Mazda sold 150,622 Mazda CX-5s, more than half of the brand’s total of 300,325 sales.
Mazda and Toyota broke ground on the Alabama assembly plant in January of this year. The plant will employ up to 4,000 Americans and produce around 300,000 vehicles annually. Half of those could be the two new Mazda crossover models. Production is planned to start sometime in the middle of 2021, so that’s the earliest we can expect to purchase the new vehicles.
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