Look out, China? Mazda to develop eight new EVs by 2030 – and it’s all thanks to Toyota

Mazda will team up with Toyota to ensure it can roll out eight all-new electric cars by 2030
in a bid catch up with its mainstream rivals.

Casting aside six decades of intense rivalry between the two, Mazda says when its new line-up of electric vehicles arrive they will account for between 25-40 per cent of its overall global sales.

That figure widely differs from what other manufacturers and analysts predict for the end of this decade, especially considering the likes of Volvo, Genesis and Mercedes-Benz all declaring plans to switch entirely to an all-electric line-up.

Addressing criticisms that Mazda, like Toyota, has been too slow pushing ahead with its EV transition, Mazda chief executive Masahiro Moro said that his car-maker’s deliberate strategy of being an “intentional follower” has been wise, following the recent wobble in demand for EVs worldwide.

Speaking to Automotive News, Mazda’s CEO said: “One of the big issues for us is demand is
uncertain.

“In the current market, the reality for electrification, in particular for battery EVs, is the pace is not that high. So we may start a little slower in terms of the ramp-up. Not necessarily in terms of timing, but the ramp-up. That is why I call us an intentional follower on EVs. We just have to deal with the consumer’s needs and wants. Right now, the customer is looking for alternative solutions — other than battery EVs.”

As well as joining forces with Toyota, Mazda says it has created a dedicated division called e-Mazda that will help fast-track the new range of zero-emission vehicles and announced that the first of its next-generation EVS will land in 2025.

The Mazda boss didn’t explicitly describe the details of its relationship with Toyota but did say it would share the bigger brand’s electronics and automotive software systems for its future EVs which would see it save up to 80 per cent on the usual development costs.

Deepening ties further is a recent joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic that could see future Mazda EVs powered by batteries developed by the other brand.

“There are many things an individual company can’t do alone,” Moro explained to AutoNews. “In the past, we might have said this is a competitive area. But now, it is a collaborative area.”

In many markets, like Australia and the US, the car-maker’s only EV has been the Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV that was hampered by a limited 224km range and was withdrawn from sale after just three years, leaving just the CX-90 and CX-60 hybrids as its only electrified offering.