Mazda has confirmed when it will launch its first electric vehicle (EV) on a new, dedicated electric platform.
The as-yet unspecified model is due in 2027, helping fill a gap in the lineup of the Japanese brand which has been called a laggard in the EV space.
The company is also studying offering plug-in hybrid vehicles on this platform, utilising a “high-level common structure” to help reduce investment costs.
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Beyond vehicles on this new platform, Mazda is also leveraging its partnership with its Chinese partner Changan.
It will launch a new SUV between 2025 and 2027, likely resembling the Arata concept revealed earlier this year.
This new SUV will join the EZ-6, a revised Deepal L07, which went on sale in October. For now, it’s available only in China, offered with both electric and range-extender powertrains.
Arata concept
Mazda says it has split its electrification journey into three phases.
Phase 1 (2022-24) saw it introduce mild- and plug-in hybrid large SUVs like the CX-90 to drive profits, while Phase 2 (2025-27) will see the “transition to electrification” ahead of Phase 3 (2028-30) when it will have a “full-scale launch” of EVs.
Mazda’s EV plans appear to have changed somewhat over the past few years.
EZ-6
In 2021, it announced it would launch three electric vehicles between 2022 and 2025 on what it called its Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture, designed to also support hybrid and plug-in hybrid models.
No such EVs have eventuated yet, and Mazda still has only one in-house EV – the MX-30, no longer offered in Australia – plus the EZ-6.
In 2021, Mazda also said it planned to launch a new Skyactiv EV Scalable Architecture in 2025 with several products being rolled out by 2030 using these underpinnings.
