Mazda is back to manufacturing cars in the U.S. with the CX-50.
The automaker’s new Huntsville, Alabama plant — built in joint venture with Toyota — began rolling out the brand new CX-50 crossover Wednesday. Driving the first unit off the assembly was Mazda North American Operations CEO Jeff Guyton, where he emphasized the occasion as a critical moment to its future ambitions.
“The production of the CX-50 here signifies the importance of the North American market to Mazda and our commitment to investing in the U.S.,” he said in a statement.
Mazda last manufactured cars in the United States back in 2012 in Flat Rock, Michigan, where it built the Mazda6 in a joint venture with Ford Motor Company. Now, the $2.3 billion partnership with Toyota will be capable of producing up to 300,000 vehicles annually in Alabama, employing 4,000 workers in the process. As part of the deal, half that production capacity will be allocated to Mazda’s new crossover. Toyota, for its part, began building the Corolla Cross at the plant back in September.
What the new CX-50 is about
This latest crossover is a larger, more rugged addition to the lineup, slotting above the existing CX-5. While the powertrain is familiar — a 2.5-liter SkyActiv-G unit mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. We are slated to get a hybrid version at some point in the near future. That hybrid will incorporate Toyota’s technology, though the automaker has not announced much more concrete information on that front just yet.
As with the brand’s other models over the past few years, the CX-50 does have a more upscale interior, including a panoramic sunroof for the first time in a Mazda vehicle. With these first production units rolling off the line, the 2023 Mazda Cx-50 will arrive at dealers in the coming weeks.
Check out more on the Mazda CX-50 below:
