Mazda is latest to announce full fleet electrification alongside traditional engines

19 September 2017

Japanese vehicle manufacturer Mazda has become the latest to announce that it will offer an electrified version of all its models, with plans to do so by 2035.

The company currently has no electric vehicles (EVs) and only has one hybrid in its fleet, so will need to develop powertrains for all its models first. The company is the latest to make such an announcement, with Jaguar Land Rover and BMW also penning deadlines for adding electric cars to their line-ups, while Volvo has decided to stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engines from 2019.

The company recently announced a partnership with Toyota, its fellow Japanese company buying a small stake in Mazda. Both companies announced they would be working together to develop technology, allowing them to catch up to Nissan, which has just launched the second generation of its market leading Leaf model. Both Toyota and Mazda are chasing an electric future in order to stay relevant in the market.

Mazda, President and CEO Masamichi Kogai said at the announcement of the partnership: ‘Nothing would please me more than if, through this alliance, we can help to energize the auto industry and create more car fans by bringing together two competitive spirits to spur each other on, leading to innovations and fostering talent and leaders.’

Toyota has set a goal for all of its vehicles to be zero emission by 2050, and alongside its EV aspirations, the company has also been investing in hydrogen technology, while rivals have been solely concentrating on EVs.

Mazda has a target to introduce an electric powertrain by 2019, and will then build on this to bring more hybrid and electric technology to further models through new generations, before having an electric option on all its vehicles by 2035.

Mazda isn’t walking away from its petrol engine development, though. Mazda’s Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030 plan, announced just last month, talked about the company’s intent to decrease carbon emissions 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. As part of the plan, Mazda said that it was going to work to improve the internal combustion engine to lower emissions. This includes the development of a petrol compression engine, the SkyActiv-X, which has been well received by the industry.

With the UK and France announcing the end of fossil fuel vehicle sales by 2040, and Norway pushing to phase out traditional engines by 2025, manufacturers are looking to upgrade their models to ensure they can still remain competitive.

Photograph courtesy of Mazda