Mazda on Thursday provided an update on its powertrain development efforts, which will emphasize bringing more development work to all electric powertrains and hybrids going forward.
After introducing the entry-level MX-30 crossover, already discontinued in the US, with all-electric powertrains and an extended range, Mazda is leaning on partners for electrification. A hybrid version of the CX-50 crossover SUV arrives in the 2025 model year with a hybrid system available from Toyota, while the EZ-6 electric sedan was developed in collaboration with China's Changan Automobile.
Mazda's electrification plans for the current decade
Now Mazda is trying to become independent. In a presentation Thursday, the automaker said it is making progress its a hybrid system which will be used in the next generation CX-5 crossover SUV launched sometime between 2025 and 2027. After the CX-5, the hybrid system could be used in larger models, Mazda said.
Towards the end of that period, around 2027, Mazda plans to introduce an electric SUV based on its dedicated EV platform, with plug-in hybrid variant and it is possible. This will be sold alongside an electric SUV developed in collaboration with Changan.
2025 Mazda EZ-6
Mazda also confirmed that it has inked battery supply agreements with AESC and Panasonic to secure the required battery volumes until 2030. The new plant in Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture will assemble cells from Panasonic, with which Mazda has been in talks since at least 2023, into modules. .
The development of internal combustion engines will continue as well. At the same presentation, Mazda announced a new Skyactiv-Z family of 4-cylinder engines due to launch in 2027, and said it will return a development of the rotary engine group in February. The MX-30 currently uses a small rotary engine as a range extender, but this hints at the wider use of pistonless engines that are a big part of Mazda's history. The automaker in May also partnered with Subaru and Toyota to find ways to reduce emissions from combustion engines.