Mazda donates Huntsville-made vehicles to Red Cross

HUNTSVILLE — Eight Mazda CX-50 vehicles will be on the front lines of disaster response, courtesy of Mazda North American Operations.

The automaker donated eight Mazda CX-50 vehicles to the Red Cross Alabama and Mississippi Region to help deliver emergency supplies and services to families affected by disasters, and support biomedical services.

The vehicles were built at the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing Plant in Huntsville and delivered to Hiley Mazda of Huntsville.

Donating vehicles to the Red Cross provides Mazda with an opportunity to give back to communities in which it does business, the company said in a news release. Since 2015, 90 vehicles have been donated by MNAO and delivered to Mazda dealerships all over the country, reaching Red Cross offices that are most in need of new transportation.

“Mazda’s long-standing partnership with the American Red Cross has spanned nearly three decades and we are humbled by the work they do in the communities we serve,” said Naoki Okano, Senior Vice President of Monotsukuri Operations, Mazda North American Operations. “It’s an honor to be able to provide the Alabama-Mississippi Region with eight Mazda CX-50s, locally manufactured at our plant in Huntsville, to serve as additional emergency vehicles for local communities.”

The Red Cross uses its fleet of community emergency vehicles to execute the mission of responding to disaster and providing shelter and resources to those affected along with supporting biomedical services.

“For the past few years, we have been on the ground responding to an increasing number of tornadoes, home fires and other disasters,” said Mark Beddingfield, Regional Chief Executive Officer of the Red Cross Alabama and Mississippi Region. “This generous donation of vehicles will not only enable us to fulfill our unwavering commitment to protect life and alleviate suffering, but its versatility will allow us to meet our wide range of needs — from biomedical services to disaster response.”

Each year, the Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters across the country, including home fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and wildfires. Red Cross services are provided to people in need of assistance at no cost and regardless of income through the generosity of Red Cross donors.