The next-generation Mazda CX-5 mid-size SUV will arrive within the next two years, the Japanese brand has announced – while also confirming that it will introduce the first pure-electric model using its all-new scalable architecture in 2027.

Not much is known about the third-generation CX-5 at this point, other than it is set to feature the company’s own hybrid powertrain – potentially using an engine developed with the help of Subaru and Toyota, as the three Japanese brands are currently collaborating on new engines that are tailored for use in hybrid vehicles. 

A plug-in hybrid CX-5 seems likely too, as Mazda’s latest SUVs – the CX-60 and seven-seat CX-80 – are both offered with this type of powertrain. Plenty of rival mid-size SUVs, including the Hyundai Tucson, Ford Kuga and Toyota RAV4, are also available with plug-in hybrid power.

Finally, Mazda will streamline the specifications and options customers will be able to choose from, with the goal of reducing the complexity of the next-generation CX-5 range by roughly 60 per cent compared with the current model.

Deputy General Manager of R&D Mazda Europe, Christian Schultze, told Auto Express earlier this year that cars based on the new Scalable Skyactiv platform “will be in the heart of our production line-up nowadays”.

We’re all but certain the new model will be an electric SUV, given that SUVs now make up the majority of Mazda’s range and are the brand’s top sellers. 

The Mazda Arata concept revealed back in April gave us a glimpse of a sharp-looking Tesla Model Y rival that will go on sale in China soon, so a similar model for Europe and other markets would make sense. 

Schultze told us: “You can basically make anything you want on [Scalable Skyactiv]. We have MX-30, CX-30 and Mazda3 all on one platform with a different top hat [body] on that. It’ll be the same with the [Scalable Skyactiv] platform, but what we need to look at is how much space do we have for the interior, what is the space required for the battery, do we have a one or two-motor system? Therefore we need to be scalable.”

Mazda had announced in 2022 that it would bring out a trio of new electric cars by 2025, although none has even been teased since then, and until now the brand hadn’t confirmed exactly when it would launch a second EV to join the quirky MX-30 in its line-up.

According to Schultze, one reason for Mazda’s slow EV roll-out is finding the right individuals. “We have hundreds of engineers who are perfect experts for developing combustion engines, so what we had to build up is hundreds of engineers who can perfectly develop an electrified powertrain, and you can’t take these from your pockets,” he explained.

“I think there is a kind of talent war outside, not only here in Europe but also in Japan, to get the people who can do that. So that’s why it maybe took us longer than we anticipated. But on the other hand, we believe when we come to the market it’s the right time.”