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Mazda hints at electric MX-5 in revised EV strategy
Japanese manufacturer announces £9bn investment in future electric cars, shows new sports-oriented concept
Mazda has previewed a sleek two-seat coupé – which could hint at the next-generation MX-5 – alongside the announcement of an £8.9 billion investment into future electric vehicles.
Although the firm did not detail the model, instead relegating it to a five-minute promotional video at the end of a financial presentation, it was shown alongside a series of Mazda MX-5 convertibles. This suggests it could be an early look at the next-generation sports car, despite being a hard-top coupé with Lamborghini-style scissor doors.
Also shown was an early look at the model’s chassis, with a large space for a longitudinally mounted engine and a structure – likely a fuel cell or battery enclosure – behind the driver. However, the concept’s lack of exhausts – coupled with Mazda’s major investment in future EVs – seems to confirm it is an electric vehicle, in its current form.
Mazda’s European head of product development and engineering, Joachim Kunz, hinted in April that the MX-5 will be considered completely separate to the brand’s mainstream models.
“It’s our brand icon and it is always treated very specially,” Kunz told Autocar. “At the moment, it looks like we will have this car forever, with this size and concept and combustion engine. Of course, some day, we will have to electrify it, but we want to keep this pure concept.”
www.autocar.co.uk
Japanese manufacturer announces £9bn investment in future electric cars, shows new sports-oriented concept
Mazda has previewed a sleek two-seat coupé – which could hint at the next-generation MX-5 – alongside the announcement of an £8.9 billion investment into future electric vehicles.
Although the firm did not detail the model, instead relegating it to a five-minute promotional video at the end of a financial presentation, it was shown alongside a series of Mazda MX-5 convertibles. This suggests it could be an early look at the next-generation sports car, despite being a hard-top coupé with Lamborghini-style scissor doors.
Also shown was an early look at the model’s chassis, with a large space for a longitudinally mounted engine and a structure – likely a fuel cell or battery enclosure – behind the driver. However, the concept’s lack of exhausts – coupled with Mazda’s major investment in future EVs – seems to confirm it is an electric vehicle, in its current form.
Mazda’s European head of product development and engineering, Joachim Kunz, hinted in April that the MX-5 will be considered completely separate to the brand’s mainstream models.
“It’s our brand icon and it is always treated very specially,” Kunz told Autocar. “At the moment, it looks like we will have this car forever, with this size and concept and combustion engine. Of course, some day, we will have to electrify it, but we want to keep this pure concept.”
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www.autocar.co.uk
