Mazda said it is committed to electrification while also ensuring customers have access to the powertrain option suited to them.

It announced its multi-solution strategy that intends to keep it flexible through to 2030.

“As the automotive industry is going through a once-in-a-century seismic shift, Mazda keeps on evolving by updating our ‘joy of driving’ for the next generation of vehicles. All of us at Mazda are committed to striking the right balance of efficient business management and development of sustainable technology to deliver unique value regardless of business scale,” said Mazda president and CEO Masahiro Moro in a news release.

The multi-solution strategy aims to provide customers with choices of vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE), hybrids or battery-electric vehicles.

The automaker also provided some information about upcoming powertrains currently in the works.

Skyactiv-Z

Mazda’s in-house developed hybrid system, Skyactiv-Z, will debut in the next generation CX-5 SUV in 2027.

The automaker said this engine will form the core of Mazda’s lineup for small products in the electrification era and will meet various emissions regulations, including Europe’s Euro 7 and North America’s LEV4 and Tier 4, and achieve high fuel economy and driving performance.

Furthemore, this powertrain will reduce the number of engine units and control software, thereby enhancing development and production efficiency.

EV platform

Mazda is developing an in-house battery EV platform, which it said will be highly flexible, from a hardware and software standpoint. That will allow it to be used for various battery types and vehicle models.

This EV platform is set to launch in 2027.

It will be produced in Japan for global markets with battery cells developed in collaboration with Panasonic Energy Corporation.

Mazda said this platform is designed with future technologies in mind to ensure the automaker remains at the forefront of EV innovation.

Mazda doesn’t currently sell any EVs in Canada. The MX-30 was dropped after the 2024 model year.

Operational efficiency

Mazda also intends to become more efficient.

For one, it intends to lean into working with partners, which will allow it to reduce the cost of investing in batteries, down to approximately 1.5 trillion yen from what had been expected to be 2 trillion yen.

It also intends to evolve its model-based development to improve flexibility, efficiency and speed. Mazda said that by combining internal combustion engines and electrification technologies, it can achieve significant operational efficiencies by 2030.

---