Look out, Toyota, BYD, MG and Nissan, because Mazda is working flat out to have its unique hybrids ready for Australia, starting from later next year.
That is when the completely in-house developed SkyActiv-Z hybrids will debut in North America, meaning Australians can expect to see the CX-5 hybrids arrive in Australia for the MY28 range of Mazda's best-selling mid-sized SUV.
And, just to be clear, this is proper electric motor-added hybrid technology, as opposed to the very mild-hybrid powertrains as found in the 2.5-litre Skyactiv G petrol engines dubbed "Mazda M Hybrid technology".
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"I can confirm that a hybrid CX-5 powertrain is in its latest stages of development," according to Mazda Australia Director of Sales and Marketing, Jarrod Gieschen.
"With rigorous testing currently being carried out, we expect to see hybrid tech available in the United States next year, then thereafter in Australia."
Additionally, along with a new standard 'more' mild-hybrid set-up that will prioritise affordability as well as better fuel economy, there will also be a higher-performance Strong Hybrid model offering the best of both worlds, if Mazda is to be believed.
This will effectively fill the gap left by the now-discontinued G35 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo model.
According to Gieschen, the latter will combine performance with efficiency.
"When it comes to the G35 turbo powertrain, offering it in the line-up does not make sense once we have our full suite of powertrains for this vehicle," he said. "So, we have to be a little bit more patient (as) the hybrid powertrain will effectively replace this option."
In the outgoing CX-5 G25 Turbo AWD, it delivered 170kW of power and a hefty 420Nm of torque - though at the expense of relatively high fuel consumption out in the real world, at around 11.0 to 11.5 litres per 100km. The official ADR 81/02 figure is 8.2L/100km.
Mazda Australia Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi added that after the launch of the 6e and CX-6e electric vehicles supplied by Changan out of China, the SkyActiv-Z program will be his company's next big priority in this country.
"After this, our focus will be the Mazda hybrid system, which … is its testing phase," he said. "Some of us have driven it and it's great."
Last year, Mazda released some SkyActiv-Z hybrid innovation details, including its super-lean fuel mix to greatly boost engine combustion efficiency, as well as improved thermal properties that actually turns otherwise wasted heat into stored energy for the electric motor, thermoelectric-style.
It is believed that both features significantly lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
So why the long wait for hybrid in CX-5?
Bhindi revealed it needed to meet brand expectations before being ready for the market.
"We want it absolutely as soon as possible," he said.
"But we do understand that they are priorities, and for Mazda Corporation right now, it is making sure the Mazda hybrid system absolutely delivers what the engineers are planning to give to the market, and then following on from that, again, what's next and at what cadence."
To reiterate, SkyActiv-Z is a Mazda-driven development, and is believed to use none of the series-parallel technology found in the Toyota-supplied hybrid found in the North-American-market CX-50 hybrid.
