Mazda’s cautious approach in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) space seems to be the right call. After Honda’s shock cancellation and subsequent write down of its 0 (Zero) BEV program, the Hiroshima-based carmaker says they are simply delaying the launch of its first in-house BEV vehicle by two years to 2029.
In addition, the delay will come with “virtually no impairments or write-downs” according to Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro.
The report, published by Automotive News, says that being an “intentional follower” in the BEV space means Mazda is able to prevent the billions of dollars wasted in investments claimed by rivals such as Honda as well as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
By not fully locking in funds in BEV development, Mazda is now able to redeploy that to beef up their gasoline-electric hybrid line-up.
The carmaker says they now plan to launch three hybrids between 2028 to 2030 in addition to the hybrid CX-5 expected next year. These hybrids will use a Mazda-developed setup centered around a super-lean Skyactiv-Z four-cylinder engine.
“When paired with the Skyactiv-Z, our in-house hybrid system creates an excellent combination with an engine that offers exceptional performance and efficiency,” said Moro-san.
In the meantime, to satisfy EV demand in select markets, Mazda will lean on products developed in China with its local partner Changan. Mazda will export those China-built EVs to markets such as Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, as part of its “lean-asset” strategy.
The delay in launching their first in-house developed BEV means scaling back their EV targets to around 15 percent (200,000 to 250,000 units) of their annual volume by 2030. This new target is dramatically lower from Mazda’s original expectation to derive between 25 and 40 percent of its global sales from EVs by the end of the decade.
Are BEVs really the future?
ReplyDeleteWith battery tech improving every year. Its gonna be a yes
DeleteYes. Own one and you'll know.
DeleteIf batteries can reduce their cost by 50% or double their current efficiency (more likely to be a combination of the two) you can have BEVs at 75% the cost of an ICE car. That's something that ICE cars can't realistically compete with once battery tech gets to that point.
DeleteCombustion engines just don't have much room to cut costs or increase efficiency like EV battery and EV motor tech has.
I think it will be... there are laws in 1st world countries where all vehicles sold are required to be BEV...
Deletetuta ng 1st world!
DeleteBeing late in the game isn’t bad at all. It’s playing safe rather than risking everything.
ReplyDeletethe 6E binebenta na ng mazda thailand
ReplyDeleteThe 6e is a made in China car.
DeleteSave the best for last
ReplyDeleteMazda, and most jap brands are leaving it up to "others" to shoulder the cost of r&d and improving BEVs. Once consistency in tech has been proven (longer mileage, faster charging, safety, etc) and standards established, they'd surely jump right into the bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteThis way, they save on cost and wont tarnish their reputation in case of failures and recalls...savvy!
Chinese cars are the forefront of innovation! China #1
DeleteEhh. That's not how it works. If you didn't invest in battery manufacturing earlier you're still going to have to build those factories once you decide to get serious and building each can take years (and you'll have to build a lot to scale properly). You can have a Jap brand invent a completely functional battery - today - that blows all other options away but you'd still be 5+ years from offering that to the market at scale.
DeleteIf you want to skip that part you can just buy from the market but that's a cost you'll have to push onto your buyers. All battery suppliers are essentially bought/sold out and since the battery is the most expensive part of a BEV means that deciding - just now - to buy from a supplier will mean paying a premium to cut in line which means you need to charge a premium for the car you're selling.
That's not even mentioning all the patents that you'll have to pay to use if you don't want to spend R&D for in-house tech. And there's a lot of tech surrounding batteries and motors. Basic electric motors are good but new stuff coming out from China or even Europe like what Mercedes Benz has with YASA motors is looking to be really good for both efficiency and performance which again you will have to pay for if you want to use them.
Consistency has been proven. It's been more than a decade since the first Nissan Leaf and the first Teslas. Standards have also long been established so I'm not sure if you're really aware of that. Perhaps you mean regulations like with retracting door handles and stuff? Regulations constantly change even with ICE tech so that shouldn't be a big hindrance.
3 of the 4 brands mentioned in this article that 'wasted billions' are US companies (Stellantis is Euro-American) and mainly focus on the US market. The US is getting left behind in EVs and shouldn't be seen as a lesson for the world to follow.
ugh, this guy again with his wall of text. yes, we get it. you like chinese cars.
DeleteReading comprehension missing.
DeleteThere's no love for Chinese cars in these walls of text. Just pure business explanation.
The Koreans and Europeans have made the right moves in investment and have a lot of compelling products on the market or are launching soon.
You people can't seem to wrap your heads around that fact. Or maybe you just find it hard to accept that the Japanese brands (like the US ones mentioned in this article) are heavily disadvantaged (in EV tech of course, before the 'hurr durr total car sales' comments come in 🤣) due to being late to invest.
I'm not cheering for any team. Apparently that's a rarity/surprise for a lot of people. lol
hmm I know you're a pretty well known chinese car supporter here. nothing wrong with that, but the wall of text always makes me skip your comment. next time please sum it up since we all have tiny attention span these days
Deletethis is a car website, for the love of cars! puro business haka-haka, malamang entry level lang naman trabaho. LOL
DeleteIt's funny you think that way when you never bother to read what I post. I take it you're also the type who never reads the articles beyond the headline and goes straight to the comments section? Doing that almost always guarantees you get some details wrong.
DeleteIf my points about EV tech and/or manufacturing makes Chinese car companies look good then that's not my fault. It's just reality. That said, I don't fanboy for companies.
I'm sure you have people (politicians maybe?) you dislike in your town/city but can't deny that they're doing well for themselves. It's the same principle when you talk about how their businesses are booming even as you don't like/care for them personally.
@anon May 21 1:25am
DeleteBaka hindi mo na pansin na yung article kung nasaan tayo is talking about about Mazda's business decisions.
Kung hindi mo trip yung convo ng business you can just skip this article and comments section. At ano connection ng trabaho ng tao? lol
EV batteries prices just like any tech product and any product will never go down and will always increase as time goes by.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lazy attempt at a lie. A lot of tech gets cheaper over time. You can literally google the price history of almost anything now. EV batteries especially since it's widely reported how much they've gotten cheaper. Modern phones wouldn't exist if battery tech didn't get cheaper. TVs used to cost our grandparents several months worth of salary to buy. Now you can get a 55 incher for less than 20k now. If you factor in inflation and how weak the peso is now you'll be even more surprised at how cheap some things have gotten. It doesn't apply to everything but to say nothing gets cheaper is a dumb thing to say.
DeleteDont go EV, mazda or suffer the same fate as honda which lost billions in their RnD..
ReplyDeleteLeave the EV works to china cars who has deep pockets.
Great Strategy by Mazda just rebadged a Chinese EV and call it a day rather than developing your own EV and lose $8B liked Honda.
ReplyDeleteSell cheap Chinese cars fm Mazda? Only if they sell cheaper than current Chinese cars.
ReplyDeleteMazda is like a boutique/independent brand relative to Hondas/Volkswagen/Toyotas. It is forced to be a lot smarter and efficient in its capital allocation and R&D so it focused on JVs to roll out EVs (ie Changan) and full hybrids (CX50s with Toyota hybrid, also Changan).
ReplyDelete