Mazda has announced today that it will be launching 5 new SUV models starting 2022. The models are: Mazda CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, CX-80, and CX-90.

Out of these 5 models, the 50, 70, and 90 series cars will be aimed primarily at North American buyers, while the 60 and 80 series cars will be sold in Japan and Europe.

In other words, models with the odd number 5, 7, and 9 are for USA and Canada while the even number 6 and 8 ones are for the rest of the world. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that sales of the CX-50, CX-70, and CX-90 are ruled out for other countries.

For example, the Mazda CX-9 is developed primarily for North America while the slightly smaller Mazda CX-8 is for Japan, where cars are also taxed based on their body size but that hasn’t stopped markets like Malaysia and Australia from selling both models side by side.

The company’s presentation materials also implied that the current generation CX-8 will soon be replaced by the CX-80, which will also offer three-row seats.

Going further down Mazda’s hierarchy of SUVs, Mazda confirms that the CX-5 nameplate will remain.

Sitting slightly above the Mazda CX-5 will be the CX-50 (North America) and CX-60 (Japan and Europe), both are five-seaters.

No further details on specifications are provided but Mazda did say that its ‘Large Group’ products will be offered with 3 powertrain options, depending on markets – a rear-wheel drive (or all-wheel drive) 6-cylinder regular combustion engine, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and a 48V mild-hybrid (MHEV).

The ‘Small Group’ cars will get SkyActiv-X, battery electric (BEV), and RE Multiple Electrification technology. The latter hints to a small rotary engine-based range extender electric vehicle. In other words, a battery electric vehicle that comes with a tiny combustion engine to serve as an emergency backup generator to charge the batteries when there is no plug-in charging facility.

The 70, 80, and 90 series cars are certainly part of the ‘Large Group’ so these models are confirmed to be rear or all wheels driven.

The drivetrain of the smaller 50 and 60 series is a little unclear at this point of time, but it’s more likely to be rear-wheel drive too to justify their higher positioning (and price), which also explains why the front- / all-wheel drive CX-5 will remain.

The company also announced its SkyActiv EV architecture, which will underpin the company’s next generation battery electric vehicles. Currently, Mazda only has one BEV model, the Mazda MX-30.

Mazda didn’t give a specific timeline to introduce these models, but the announcement is part of the company’s mid-term business strategy, which runs between 2022 until 2030.