Mazda confirms 100% electric car model for 2020

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Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto has confirmed that the Japanese automaker will make a 100% electric vehicle that will be released by 2020, as part of a wider push towards electrification.

In an interview with Europe Auto News, the Mazda boss blamed the success of the company’s diesel-powered CX-5 SUV on why the company strives to meet strict CO2 emissions standards. in Europe, where the average fleet of each car manufacturer is expected to reach 95 g / km by 2021.

But with Mazda’s current fleet average emissions estimated by automotive market research firm JATO at 135.2 g / km, the automaker has devised a plan to meet those emissions restrictions – including committing to introduce a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to the European market in 2020.

Great news – just last week, we announced Toyota’s decision to team up with Subaru as part of a turnaround of its “auto-charging hybrids” campaigns, to develop an electric drivetrain platform that the two automakers automobiles would use in future models of electric vehicles.

At the time, we noticed that Mazda had apparently chosen to skate on thin ice with its plan to electrify its vehicles with “rotary range extenders”, taking advantage of its considerable investment in vehicle technology. rotary motors.

While at the time Marumoto said the company is planning to introduce a BEV by 2019, it now looks like in Europe at least that won’t materialize until next year.

Mazda released a Demio EV in 2012, but it was limited to 100 vehicles. Source: Wikicommons

And while Mazda actually signed a deal with Toyota in 2017 to develop electric car technology, that partnership has yet to deliver fully electric vehicles, and the model that Marumoto says the company will introduce next year is no. nor was it born of this partnership.

“We are jointly developing a new EV architecture with Toyota, but we will first introduce our own EV on a Mazda architecture in 2020,” said Marumoto. Europe Auto News Thursday.

In addition, Mazda still sticks to its plan to use its “lean burn” SkyActiv-X technology, especially for its larger models.

“Firstly, the Skyactiv-X engine that we are launching this year emits less than 100 g / km of CO2… We believe that for SUVs and large sedans, the most efficient powertrain will be a diesel coupled with an electric motor”, Marumoto said.

After the introduction of the battery-electric model next year, Marumoto added that Mazda will also introduce plug-in hybrid models from 2021.

Will these be the models that will take advantage of the “rotary range extender”?

“We continued to work on the development of the rotary engine even after we discontinued the RX-8. Its first application will be as a range extender for electric vehicles, ”said Marumoto.

“At Mazda, we all dream of one day seeing a vehicle powered by a rotary engine. But given the number of things we have to do, we had to put this on the back burner and we don’t have a deadline. “

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