Mazda announces Japan-only Mazda2 EV

Mazda is taking baby steps away from internal combustion drivetrains. That much is clear from the announcement that it would commence a lease program during the first half of 2012, offering fleets a Mazda2-based EV.

The company has not yet released technical details of the car beyond that it will have cover a range of around 200 km, making it useful for short-haul urban commuting. It will be available only for lease and only in fleets, restricting its availability to corporates and government organisations.

The lease-only deal is almost standard practice for auto makers experimenting with different technologies and building their confidence in new product, using fleet operators as focus groups. Mazda calls its approach its 'Building Block Strategy'. As engines and transmissions get lighter and more efficient, the company will expand into hybrid systems and introduce features like regenerative braking.  The aim is to get the base technologies right when they first hit the road and work up incrementally from there, (hopefully) averting recalls and other PR disasters when the product arrives in consumer showrooms.

The strategy will bear its first fruit with the release of models equipped with the company's SKYACTIV technologies later in 2011. SKYACTIV is notable for the way Mazda has opted to refine its existing internal combustion technologies rather than go back to clean-sheet design. That helps ensure the super-efficient powertrains will go to market at competitive prices.

For its EVs, the company has combined the two methodologies: it's gone back to clean-sheet for the base technologies and will work upwards from there. The EV lease program will provide valuable real-world insights into the way such vehicles are used day to day, what users require of them and the best approach to the infrastructure surrounding them.

Mazda is showing more caution on alternative drivetrains than its home-ground competitors.  Mitsubishi and Nissan have thrown themselves very publicly into creating an EV market through the i-MiEV and Leaf respectively, while Toyota has developed a whole sub-brand around the Hybrid Synergy Drive package now well established through its Prius and upmarket Lexus ranges.

Mazda is more forthcoming than many about its commitment to the internal combustion engine. "[It] is expected to remain the heart of the automobile for the near future," the company says in its statement about the EV program. "Mazda will continue to improve base technologies centred on internal combustion. At the same time, it will advance development of various future eco-friendly technologies in order to offer all its customers driving pleasure as well as outstanding environmental and safety performance."

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