Feb 14 (forbes.com) - As European automakers bow to the politicians and seek to rid themselves of carbon dioxide (CO2) spewing internal combustion engines (ICE), at least in their home markets, Mazda is doing its best to retain much of its traditional engineering while addressing the need for electrification and seeking more exotic solutions with the help of maybe hydrogen and biofuel.
Mazda, with maybe a nudge from its partner the mighty Toyota which is also following a grudging embrace of battery electric vehicles (BEV) or a perceptive wait-and-see how the cookie-crumbles, according to your opinion, detailed its future product plans at an event in Glasgow, Scotland to launch a facelifted CX-5 SUV.
Mazda said it wants to plow its own furrow and build up its electric car portfolio but without trashing its ICE engineering prowess built up over many years. Nevertheless,
“We are about to embark on a fundamental shift in our product portfolio,” said Mazda UK managing director Jeremy Thomson.
The European Union has set tough CO2 emission rules which insist most new cars built by 2030 are BEV. Britain has already banned the sale of new ICE sedans and SUVs by 2030. These vigorous attempts to force electric cars on Europeans are coming under pressure as eye-wateringly big increases in domestic energy prices aggravate voters. But there’s no concrete sign yet the plans could be reversed. Green lobby groups like Brussls-based Transport & Environment want the CO2 rules to be tightened further.
Meanwhile, Mazda plans to have 25% of its global product line as full BEV compared with VW’s 70% target in Europe by 2030. Mazda says ICE will still power most of its cars by 2030, but all models will have some form of electrification. Mazda plans more hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and all-electric cars, but it also wants to improve ICE engineering in a slow but sure transition to all-electric. It wants ICE vehicles to contribute to the drive for CO2 reduction. Mazda also sees a role for hydrogen, renewable fuels, and next-generation bio-diesel. ...continue reading
