Mazda Motor Corp. will launch its first electric-vehicle-only model in 2027, the new CEO Masahiro Moro said in a recent interview in Tokyo, to speed up its electrification efforts and catch up with global rivals.

Mazda already has a BEV; in 2021, it started selling an electric model of the compact MX-30 sports utility vehicle,  but the Japanese automaker has not yet had a dedicated electric vehicle. Recently it added a range extender version of its MX-30 with a rotary engine as a generator for the electric motor driving the wheels.

Ramp up production of EVs

Moro also said that the company will ramp up production of EV-only models from 2028 onward and accelerate the development of high-quality electric control equipment in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corp., its capital alliance partner.

He also vowed to step up Mazda’s electrification efforts in China, the largest auto market in the world, betting that a shift to EVs in the country will proceed at a rapid pace. “We will offer one EV model after another from 2025 through a Chinese joint venture,” Moro said in an interview with several reporters.

Also, in the US

In the United States, the automaker has recently started to make the gasoline-powered CX-50 SUV at its factory in Alabama and will aim to launch a hybrid model of it. Last year, US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, in which the country offers a tax break for those who purchase EVs assembled in North America.

To utilize the scheme, Mazda “will consider production (of EVs) and battery procurement” in the region, Moro explained. Seeking to bolster its brand value, the CEO also said he would consider setting up a new company to organize motorsport events and promote safe driving.

Moro was promoted to CEO in June from senior managing executive officer, succeeding Akira Marumoto, who held the top position for the past five years.

Strategic resemblances

Mazda, still an independent Japanese car manufacturer, is making the same strategic choices lately as its ‘capital alliance partner’ Toyota. There also, the change in leadership (Akio Toyoda handed the helm to Koji Sato) is accelerating the electrification process.

Nevertheless, both companies are keeping open other alternatives, Toyota believing firmly in hydrogen and its hybrid solution (where it is a world leader), and Mazda joining the alliance of manufacturers investigating the future of so-called e-fuels.