Mazda finally announced its strategic layout for electric vehicles today. The company aims to release 13 electrified vehicles by 2025, with successive additions of BEVs, before achieving the target of full electrification in 2030.
Mazda announced today the “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030” project, and revealed its major strategy orientation marching towards 2030, where the most essential segment lies on the relevant arrangement of electrification; the unique “zoom-zoom” sound of its brand will probably become a piece of history after it transitions to electric vehicles.
Mazda expects to release 13 electrified vehicles between 2022 and 2025, including 5 HEVs, 5 PHEVs, and 3 BEVs, which will be developed using the SKYACTIV Multi-solution Scalable Architecture of the company, and sold to Japanese, European, US, Chinese, and ASEAN markets.
▲Mazda’s electrification architecture with a rotary engine.
Mazda is able to release gasoline hybrid, diesel hybrid, and BEV models using this multi-solution architecture, though the overall architecture has a lower level of scalability compared to a BEV architecture, with both the utilization of space and drag coefficient being slightly inferior, and a high drive range cannot be expected as well. However, such common architecture is great for cost control, and EVs that are more affordable may be seen in the future.
Mazda will release a BEV architecture of SKYACTIV Scalable EV Architecture, a new platform specifically built for electric vehicles, when entering the second phase after 2025, and develop multiple models on the particular platform like what Toyota and Volkswagen are currently doing.
The company has yet to disclose any details regarding this new platform, which begs the question as to whether Mazda will autonomously develop a new platform, or borrow the platform technology of Toyota to preserve R&D cost.
Mazda predicts that all of its models will be configured with various levels of electrification by 2030, and fossil fuel models will no longer be available, whereas BEVs will occupy 1/4 of the total sales volume then.
It is better late than never. Mazda has been the slowest participant in electrification among traditional non-luxury auto manufacturers, and the fact that SME auto manufacturers are unable to afford risky investment in this ferocious battle of capital expenditure might just be the ideal pace for Mazda. We hope to see that the company continues its distinctive style, and remain as one of the leaders in the auto industry.
(Photo source: Mazda; cover photo indicates concept car Vision Coupe)