Mazda’s first all-electric vehicle, the MX-30, debuted this fall with a meager 35.5-kWh traction battery on board. Christian Schultze, CEO of Mazda R&D Center Europe, explains the logic behind this decision.
According to him, the MX-30 with its 200 kilometers (122 miles) of driving range primarily targets urban drivers who will travel between 40 and 70 kilometers (25 – 43 miles) every day and charge their EV once every two or three days. Clamping down on battery size enables the company to keep the price as low as €35,000 – far below the longer-range competition.
Furthermore, Mazda is devoted to keeping the battery small in future generations. That said, it plans to release a special modification of the MX-30 in 2021 that would pack a compact-sized rotary engine burning gas to provide additional power to the electric motor, just like the BMW i3 and some others. Schultze said this special version would have plenty of range, without giving specific numbers.
The Mazda MX-30 will be shown in its final production form at the Geneva IMS 2020 and go on sale in mid-2020.
Mazda Europe CEO Yasuhiro Aoyama added that the company would have to sell as many electric cars as possible to avoid emission fines. The way things are looking right now, Mazda is going to be hit with the fine in 2020, and 2021 is still too far away to make predictions.