How EV latecomer Mazda plans to introduce 7 to 8 new EVs

Automotive News Asia Editor Hans Greimel spoke with Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro about the company’s EV future. Moro also talked about the expectations for Mazda in North America in the coming years.

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Hans Greimel

December 10, 2023 06:00 PM

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Indeed, internal combustion engines, even when paired with an electrified hybrid setup, are driving big growth at Mazda. Moro said U.S. sales could reach 400,000 vehicles in calendar year 2024. The automaker's U.S. sales climbed 21 percent to 323,836 vehicles through November.

For now, Mazda's only electrified offerings in the U.S. are the plug-in hybrid CX-90 and the MX-30 all-electric subcompact crossover. But the low-range MX-30 will be discontinued after the 2023 model year. In the U.S., electrified models account for just 1.9 percent of Mazda sales.

Plug-ins account for half the volume of the CX-90 crossover in the U.S. That is about double the ratio the brand originally forecast, Moro said. And for the CX-50, Mazda expects a hybrid version to account for 20 to 25 percent of sales when it is added as an option.

The CX-70, expected to land stateside next year, will also get a plug-in hybrid.

Unlike the CX-90 and CX-70 plug-in systems, which Mazda developed in-house, the CX-50 will adopt a hybrid system from partner Toyota Motor Corp., Moro said. Toyota owns a 5.1 percent stake in Mazda, and Mazda makes the CX-50 at an Alabama plant jointly operated with Toyota.

Despite its deliberate, slow start on EVs, Mazda is hardly standing still. In 2030, the automaker plans to have a lineup of seven or eight EV models, Moro said.

Last month, Moro set up a new standalone division called e-Mazda to develop, engineer, market and sell its coming line of dedicated EVs. They will be built on a new scalable platform, and the first will debut in the 2025-27 time frame. The new division has about 100 employees, Moro said.

\"When everyone talks about electrification, they talk about the technology and production,\" Moro said. \"For me, it's important to talk about the business strategy, the financials and collaboration with other suppliers and OEMs. We need to evaluate the entire business.

\"That is the purpose,\" he added. \"We put it all together in a one-stop shop.\"

The task force is still hammering out basic details of Mazda's next-generation EVs. The lineup initially will concentrate on crossovers and likely steer clear of compact or small cars because the batteries for those segments are too expensive, Moro said. A key focus will be making EVs lighter and less costly than originally imagined, he added.

Engineers will likely settle on three motor sizes — small, medium and large — in the range of 70 to 110 kilowatts. Single-motor and dual-motor layouts are also expected, Moro said.

He declined to discuss battery size. But Mazda is working with three battery suppliers. Prime Planet Energy & Solutions is a joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic that already supplies batteries for the CX-90. Mazda has also arranged to source batteries directly from Panasonic Corp. and Envision AESC Japan.

EVs built with those batteries initially will be produced at the company's Hofu plant in western Japan, but are likely to be assembled in North America from 2028 to meet local rules for EV tax incentives, Moro said.

Mazda is working on two EV varieties. One is a new dedicated EV and the other is based on an existing architecture that also accommodates internal combustion and hybrid powertrains.

From around 2026, Mazda's EVs also will adopt, almost wholesale, electronics and automotive software systems jointly developed with Toyota to save funds for EV development.

Toyota is developing its own automotive operating system called Arene at its Woven by Toyota software division. That will debut in 2026. Moro said the electrical and software system for Mazda's upcoming EVs will be 90 percent aligned with Toyota's.

Leaning on Toyota for the electrical and software architecture will save a huge sum of money. Moro declined to give a concrete figure, but reckoned it is equivalent to the amount needed to fund development of two separate vehicles. He said teaming with Toyota saves Mazda 70 percent to 80 percent of the total investment costs of going it alone.

\"There are many things an individual company can't do alone,\" Moro said. \"In the past, we might have said this is a competitive area. But now, it is a collaborative area.\"

Even though Mazda is working with Toyota on the important digital backbone of its next-generation EVs, the company is prioritizing in-house development of the overall vehicle platform.