Mazda’s Born-EV Promise
Mazda isn’t necessarily a major player in the born-EV space. While the MX-30 is a lovely little electric crossover, its underpinnings are mostly derived from the gas-powered CX-30. You could say the same for the Mazda EZ-6 and the EZ-60, as both cars feature platforms made by Changan—Mazda’s Chinese joint venture partner.
However, things are about to change. Reportedly, Mazda CTO Ryuichi Umeshita told Autocar that the company is firmly committed to developing bespoke EV platforms for a pure-electric future. “We’ve established our own electrification development team, which we call ‘E-Mazda’, and that team has been doing a great job,” he adds.
Details about the upcoming Mazda EV are slim. Still, according to the CTO, we should expect a 2027 launch. Umeshita also sheds light on how the EV might behave dynamically: “I’ve driven a prototype car already, which I would say is a real ‘jinba ittai’ car – our key concept of wellness between car and driver. It has very good driving dynamics.”
While that’s going swimmingly, regulatory bottlenecks, however, are hindering progress. Mazda is still unsure which road to pick—whether the upcoming EV should be a low volume or high-volume offering remains undecided. CTO Umeshita explains, “If the regulation requires [a higher EV mix], it must be a volume car. If the regulation is eased, then we can ease the volume restraints.”
More to Come
Although Mazda is behind the competition, the CTO believes it still has a competitive advantage. “We do have a lot of good engineers, experienced engineers already, so I don’t think that we are behind the market because of that.” He further adds, “We’re confident that our EV products will be real Mazda products.”
This, however, is not stopping Mazda from exploring alternative-fuel solutions and next-generation hybrid powertrains. The company has set aside $10 billion for funding its born-EV endeavours and other engineering developments.
Some of those achievements were shown during the Japan Mobility Show. We got to witness Mazda’s rotary-engined PHEV range-extender alongside the Vision X twins. Also part of the Mazda lineup was an innovative approach to reduce overall vehicle emissions—a motor car capable of capturing exhaust carbon on the fly.
