The whole world is going electric. Rather, the whole of the automobile world is going electric in a big way, and Mazda is pulling out all stops as well. The makers of the Miata and the rotary-engined wonders of yore, Mazda are now planning to launch 13 new models, all based on the same platform, and they are doing it innovatively enough to give the competition some jitters.
And not just that, all 13 models are electric in ways both big and small, and Mazda plans to launch them between 2022 and 2025. To date, Mazda has announced just a single EV, the MX-30, that let's face it, is not a competition to Tesla. With a 124-mile range and generic crossover looks, Mazda needs to up its ante in the EV section if it wants to continue being a successful car seller in the US.
So, now there is a new platform that Mazda plans to play with and launch cars for its existing markets in the US, Japan, and even China. What’s so great about the platform, and how can Mazda make 13 models on it?
Let’s find out more about Mazda’s plan of using one platform to launch 13 electric vehicles. But before that, the Mazda rotary is back. But it’s not what you think…
The MX-30’s Rotary Lineage
Mazda has announced plans for a future MX-30 that will come with a rotary range extender. So yes, the Mazda is going rotary again, only not in the way you had hoped. Or planned. Or envisaged. That said, don’t get too excited because according to The Drive, this model will only come to California, for the time being.
The MX-30 is basically your run-of-the-mill EV, with a 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery and a front-mounted electric motor that churns out 144 horses and 200 lb-ft of torque. With DCFC, this battery can go from 20 percent to 80 percent in 36 minutes. The range is not very exciting at 124 miles, so hopefully, the rotary range extender will make it more Miata-like.
Do look out for those suicide doors though.
The All-New Scalable Platform
Mazda has announced some exciting plans. They plan to launch 13 electric vehicles from 2022 to 2025, all riding on their all-new SKYACTIV Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture, which will let Mazda keep adding electrification into all of its vehicles. And this new platform is quite a multitasker, happy to carry a transverse, or longitudinal engine with ease.
Mazda showed off the RWD platform, with an available AWD that they plan to use to launch the next Mazda6. Mazda has also hinted about at least one crossover in a near future, with large gasoline and diesel engines, riding with a 48v mild-hybrid system, along with the large gasoline engine also coming in a plug-in hybrid avatar.
Basically, it a five-point plan. In the first step, by 2025, Mazda plans to use this SKYACTIV EV platform to launch EVs of all sizes and shapes. Since the platform is the same, it will help the different departments of Mazda to share info, tech, and feedback better, and be able to bring out better EVs, faster.
The second step extends till 2030 and is called the “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030” plan. The idea is for Mazda to release five hybrids, three EVs, and five plug-in hybrids from 2022 to 2030. Also by 2030, Mazda wants all its models to be electrified partially and full EVs to make up for 25% of its models.
Clearly, Mazda is getting electric and only too happy to electrify its fans with a plethora of environmentally-conscious models.
What’s Further For Mazda?
It’s a five-point plan so the third point is that Mazda plans to follow in Tesla’s shadow and go autonomous, and they call it the Mazda Co-pilot Concept, where the system monitors the driver and pitches in with autonomous driving if it detects a problem. The idea is to monitor the physical condition of the driver. If the Co-pilot Concept system detects a change that could lead to the driver not being able to drive, it will step in and safely steer the car to the side, out of harm’s way.
The next and fourth step is over-the-air updates that Mazda is developing to make sure driving their EVs and electric cars is seamless for all who buy a Mazda.
The fifth and final step of Mazda’s 5-point program to emerge as a leader in the market of environmentally-conscious automobile brands, offering cars that are not only good and safe for the planet but are also fun to drive.
Because what’s the point of a Mazda if you cannot enjoy the journey? These are the makers of the Wankel-powered cars, like the REPU and the Mazda RX models, and also the makers of the Miata, a joy to drive. So for them to go electric is good, for them to plan to have fun while going electric is near electrifying. Right?
Sources: TheDrive, Carscoops