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Mazda plans to launch an EV in 2020, plug-in hybrid by 2022

Thanks to an interview Automotive News Europe conducted with Mazda president and CEO Akira Marumoto, we have more insight on Mazda's plans to lower its vehicle emissions in Europe. This will undoubtedly bring changes to the U.S. lineup, too, but The Continent sees the first fruits in part because Mazda is well over the European Union's fleet CO2 emissions target for 2021 of 95 g/km. In response to how Mazda plans to achieve the necessary reduction, Marumoto said the carmaker will launch its first EV in 2020 and have a plug-in hybrid on the road in 2021 or 2022. First, some clarification on the emissions numbers and timeline. The 95g/km figure is based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) emissions schedule being phased out next year; the AN piece cites JATO Dynamics findings that Mazda Europe's fleet CO2 average is 135.2 g/km. The new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) schedule comes into full effect in 2020, the fleet CO2 target under that methodology translating to 114.9 g/km. The rules dictate that 90 percent of an automaker's range needs to meet the cap number by the end of 2020, the rest of the lineup must come into compliance by the end of 2021. Failure means enormous fines. Industry analyst IHS Markit estimates "average fines for those not complying could reach ˆ624 ($707) per vehicle at the end of 2020, with a further ˆ190 ($215) increase in 2021." The penalties quickly grow so large that Fiat will reportedly pay Tesla hundreds of millions of euros to pool their fleets and avoid an even larger bill. Mazda's most popular vehicle in Europe is the CX-5 with CO2 emissions ranging from 128 g/km to 150 g/km. On top of that, for a small automaker, the size of potential fines has material effect on the R&D budgets necessary to develop the technologies that will lower emissions, and whatever EV Mazda launches in 2020 needs to sway legions of customers into purchases to be of practical use. This will be challenging. A line in the IHS Markit summary about the industry in general states, "Once in 2021 and subject to full WLTP regulatory monitoring, only a seismic shift (over the baseline) in consumer demand for BEV ('Electric-Plug-In') and PHEV ('Hybrid-Full Plug-In) will result in the full mitigation of EU28 fleet level excess emissions premiums." Mazda hooked up with Toyota and Denso in 2017 on a joint venture called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd to develop EV technology.

Mazda6, Honda CR-V and an Autoblogger's BMW Z3 | Autoblog Podcast #620

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about the cars that have been in their driveways, like the Mazda6, Lexus UX 250h and Honda CR-V, as well as Riswick's own BMW Z3 (where he actually recorded the podcast from). Then they discuss the news, which includes car dealers moving to digital commerce and other updates about — you guessed it — coronavirus, and how it's affecting the automotive industry. Finally, they take to Twitter to help a follower choose a weekend convertible for long, isolated drives in this week's "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #620 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Mazda6 Signature 2020 Lexus UX 250h Honda CR-V 1998 BMW Z3 2.8 Virtual dealers Coronavirus update Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Mazda Miata 'fathers' Hall and Case offer a tour through the roadster's history

The original Mazda Miata broke onto the automotive scene in 1989 and was a huge success. However, the convertible's genesis goes all the way back to the early '80s. Bob Hall and Dean Case were among the inside men of the program on the US side, and they were on hand at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the recent MX-5 event there to tell some of their stories about the project's beginning.
Hall was on the Miata project from very early on, and one of his most fascinating stories is how the convertible got its shape. The droptop wasn't necessarily going to be a rear-wheel drive roadster. There were both front-wheel-drive coupe and mid-engine concepts being considered. In fact, the classic look of the NA generation was the least favorite of the three at the sketch stage.
Hall comes off as a jokester hiding a genius mind. He has a fountain of information in his head about what a Miata should be, but it all comes down to "less is more." However, he admits that it's easy to conceive that idea, but it's much harder to actually execute it well.