Mazda will soon launch a swathe of electrified vehicles, with five hybrids, five plug-in hybrids and three pure-electric vehicles scheduled for launch between 2022 and 2025.
Mazda will soon launch a swathe of electrified vehicles, with five hybrids, five plug-in hybrids and three pure-electric vehicles scheduled for launch between 2022 and 2025.
Mazda will continue to use its Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture platform for some of these new cars, which allows the brand to run all of its vehicles (both combustion-engined and pure-electric) down the same production line.
To complement the new models, Mazda will also soon launch a pair of new straight-six hybrid engines – there’ll be a petrol and a diesel unit, both of which will feature 48V mild-hybrid assistance.
A new plug-in hybrid powertrain uses a four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a battery pack and an electric motor. Mazda will also use the rotary-powered EV range-extender technology from the MX-30 in more vehicles in the future.
In 2025, Mazda will launch a dedicated pure-electric platform for its future EVs called the Skyactiv EV Scalable Architecture, onto which all of the firm’s future electric cars will move. Technical details are still unconfirmed but, like Volkswagen’s MEB platform, Mazda says its EV chassis can be shortened or extended to suit a range of wheelbases and body styles.
By 2030, the company aims for 25 percent of its global sales to come from pure-electric vehicles, with the remaining models featuring some form of electrification.
This EV drive forms part of Mazda’s latest eco-conscious pledge to slash its CO2 emissions and become a fully carbon neutral company by 2050. This is a growing trend for the world’s car manufacturers with Polestar and Volvo making similar pledges earlier this year.
As a side project to its electrification push, (and to give itself some breathing space during the shift from fossil fuel to electric power), Mazda has also signed partnerships in Japan to develop low-carbon biofuels made from microalgae growth.
Luke Wilkinson