Mazda planning EV push

Mazda is set to accelerate its plans to introduce a full range of pure-electric vehicles by 2021 in a bid to mitigate European Union fines for failing to slash CO2 emissions, it has been revealed.

According to

Speaking to reporters at a press event in Tokyo, Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto told reported that currently around a fifth of the company's global sales are in Europe and that if the car-maker doesn't introduce EVs, plug-in hybrids and mild-hybrids it will be liable to pay huge EU fines.

Mazda has been among the slowest car-makers to embrace pure-electric cars and last year the brand failed to meet mandatory fleet-average CO2 average emissions.

This year alone, Mazda says it has set aside $88 million ($A121m) to pay fines but things are set to get all the more expensive as time goes on for the relatively small Japanese brand.

Failing to comply with tighter emission regulations to be introduced from 2020 will see it and its rival manufacturers liable for a slice of total fines in excess of €14 billion ($A19b).

Helping it lower its emissions in the short term are plans to introduce the all-new Mazda3 that is not only based on its new SKYACTIV platform but introduces compression-ignition petrol engine technology.

Mazda has announced it will release two all-new EVs by 2020 -- one a pure battery-electric model, the other a range-extender EV fitted with a rotary engine/generator.

Mazda has also announced that by 2030, all its vehicles will incorporate electric power. Before then the car-maker says it will rapidly roll out its mild-hybrid tech that uses an electric motor to assist the engine rather than power the car on its own.