Mazda unveils '2' EV

Mazda will farm out around a hundred new EVs to select Japanese customers next year, but the initiative is not a set-in-concrete commitment to zero emissions. Not yet at least...

The cars, which will be leased to customers, are based on the Mazda2 light hatch, which is sold as the Mazda Demio in Japan. While motoring.com.au has driven the car, briefly (see separate quickspin story), there's not much to tell about it other than driving impressions (see separate story). Mazda is not revealing much about the EV, although program manager Mitsuru Fujinaka did advise that the 2 EV boasts a 200km range and its lithium-ion batteries can recharge fully from a 200-Volt domestic power supply in "seven to eight hours".

If anything is likely to drive Mazda to place the 2 EV or some other EV in production, it's the increasingly stringent clean-air regulations from the US, particularly California. Fujinaka-san anticipates that Mazda will have to market zero-emissions vehicles in the US by 2018, based on current indicators. So despite the talk of SKYACTIV combustion-engined vehicles and Mazda's tie-up with Toyota for the supply of hybrid technology, EVs are definitely on the agenda for Mazda, sooner or later. In the short term however, the company is keeping its cards very close to its chest.

And the likelihood of the 2 EV reaching Australia seems quite remote over the same timeframe. Mazda Australia public relations manager, Steve Maciver, conveyed to motoring.com.au that the local arm would not be rushing into zero-emissions technology just yet.

"It's not going to happen overnight; it's not even going to happen over the next couple of years. But like anything, if we were to be offered an electric Mazda for sale in Australia, it's something we would look at seriously. We have obviously got to consider pricing, where it fits within our current line-up and the demand for that particular car in Australia. So we go through the same process we always do: we do the market equations, we do the sums — and if we can make it add up... there's no reason we wouldn't be there. But as I say, it's not something that's likely to happen overnight."

It seems a conservative approach from Mazda when Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are all committed to selling electric vehicles in Australia. Mitsubishi's i-MiEV has been on sale for some months now and could be leased before that. Nissan is months away from a formal market introduction for the LEAF and Renault's Fluence ZE will begin to reach fleet customers for a local trial from the second quarter of next year. So is it a question of Mazda waiting to see how the local market reacts to electric vehicles?

"It's probably not so much watching and waiting for what other brands are doing; it's about what's available for us at this stage," Maciver replies. "Certainly, in the short-term future, that car's not going to be available for us in Australia, so obviously I would expect that at the time a car like this does... become available, the market is going to be a bit more ready to take the car, so timing's important.

Mazda Australia currently holds 8.3 per cent market share, according to Maciver. That means the local office has a reputation for having what it takes to sell cars — and is already recognized by head office for implementing 'best practice' procedures. It has the runs on the board as a regional office that knows its own market. So in the event that significant local demand for the 2 EV was apparent, would Mazda Australia push the factory for large-scale series production and distribution locally?

"Even with positive feedback I don't think we're realistically at a stage where we can go straight back to head office and say 'we want this car' — for two reasons," Maciver explained in response. "Number one: I don't think the market is quite ready in Australia; number two: from a production point of view — in Japan — we're not ready to take the car to the level of having [a retail sales program for it]."

One reason Mitsubishi forged ahead with the i-MiEV in Australia was our high proportion of offstreet parking and powered garages. Australia actually does have sound infrastructure — other than the coal-fired power stations — and the densely concentrated urban population to support electric vehicles. Australia would make a useful testing ground for EVs, so would Mazda Australia choose to be involved in a beta test similar to the Japanese program next year?

"Absolutely," Maciver replied. "If head office decided that they wanted to use Australia for whatever reason, we're always open to that. We work very, very closely with the factory, given our position as one of the leading markets in terms of market share — and our best practice in a lot of ways. If that's the discussion we wanted to have we'd be open to that. Without committing to anything we'd certainly be open to it."

In the short term, as Maciver hints, EVs could be a distraction for Mazda Australia. The company's head office is known to be planning the introduction of hybrid-drive vehicles in 2013 (with technology licensed from Toyota initially). Maciver suggests that Mazda Australia is not really prepared for the advent of hybrids, let alone the battery-electric vehicles.

"[Hybrids are] probably something a little bit closer to fruition than the EV, but it's not something that's on the product plan for Australia," he explained. "Again, you'd have to look at it, but a lot of things have got to come into play. Pricing's important, fuel economy figures are important, all that type of stuff. Our main focus right now is to get SKYACTIV launched; get those core technologies in the range in Australia — and then think of the next step from there."

So Mazda Australia is not going to move faster than the market, but there's a danger of being stretched thin by the expanding horizons of the parent company and the conservative buying patterns of the locals. Sooner or later Mazda Australia will have to take on board new, eco-friendly drivetrain systems technology — but that's actually something good to anticipate.

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