A drive assembly for a sliding door is disclosed, the drive assembly having a power drive unit for providing a rotational force to rotate a cable drum of the drive assembly, the power drive unit being mounted within the sliding door; a cable having one end secured a guide track of the drive assembly and another end secured to the guide track; a roller assembly configured to slidably engage the guide track; an arm fixedly secured to the sliding door and pivotally mounted to the roller assembly at a pivot point; a pulley rotationally mounted to the roller assembly, the axis of rotation of the pulley being aligned with the pivot point and the cable engages the pulley in opposite directions as the cable drum rotates and the roller assembly slides along the guide track as the cable drum rotates, wherein movement of the roller assembly causes movement of the sliding door.