Mazda Confirms Company Has No Plans For An EV

By Eric Loveday

Eric Loveday

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Eric Loveday is a car enthusiast with a love for everything automotive. He purchased a 1970 Chevelle at age 16, quickly outgrew its dated engineering... More

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1,872 views Sep 4, 2009

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With recent announcements confirming that even Honda has entered into the EV bandwagon, it comes as a surprise that Mazda is still saying no to EVs.

According to Robert Davis, Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Mazda, "Until battery technology can get there to meet a mass customer's needs, and a customer in North America certainly drives further than the existing technology will allow, we don't have the plans set in place yet for an electric vehicle."

The announcement came at a recent media event in Monterey, California.  Even though many automakers have set plans for future EVs, Mazda has no plans to produce one that doesn't meet it fun to drive expectations.  According to Davis, "The technology does not meet Mazda's fun to drive criteria and the high cost of electric powertrain development makes such a project financially unattractive."

Rather than developing an EV, Mazda intends to focus on other methods for meeting tighter CAFÉ regulations.  They will focus on weight reduction and improving upon the conventional powertrains efficiency.

Though Mazda states they have no plans for an EV, they made a similar statement a few months back regarding hybrids.  They initially planned to further develop the gasoline engine rather than introduce a hybrid model.  Just weeks after that announcement, Mazda changed their plans to include several hybrid models in the coming years.  Maybe they will change their minds once again.
Source:  Wards Auto (Login required)