Mazda New Zealand outlines intent for new petrol powertrain tech, expresses positive thought about future electrics.

FIRST Mazda product for New Zealand with a new petrol powertrain Japan head office extolled yesterday will be the next CX-5 in a hybrid format that's still at least a year away from introduction.

However, the new generation of the brand’s evergreen top seller here - accounting for around 40 percent of total volume presently - will not solely present with the flagship petrol-electric format of what the factory is calling SkyActiv-Z.

In addition to a technology designed to lend even leaner burning and lower emissions than its current already Green-tinged choices will site a more conventional internal combustion powertrain.

The latter will serve up first here while the hybrid, a first for CX-5, is likely to be seen here toward late 2027, Mazda New Zealand product spokesman Paul Sherley said today.

“SkyActiv-Z will debut with the Mazda hybrid system … in the next generation CX-5. That powertrain combination will be here towards the end of 2027.

“We expect to see the CX-5 here before the hybrid engine is launched in the car.

“ I don't have exact timing to share, but the next generation CX-5 has been highlighted as being here within the next one to two years. And the hybrid powertrain is from the latter part of 2027.”

In the meantime, the current CX-5 (above) will continue on sale, with last year’s revisions set to be the last freshen it will get during the remaining period of sale.

“We're very happy with how the range is at the moment. It’s unlikely we'll be doing any future updates between now and the next generation.”

Though it underwent a major update in 2021, the current CX-5 dates back to 2016, so is an elderly product, yet Sherley is confident it will keep doing the job even if retirement isn’t for another two years.

“We're planning to continue selling CX-5 as long as we can. CX-5 has been very successful for over a decade since launch, and we don't really see that changing based on the current market trends.”

Meantime, the Auckland-based distributor’s chief take-out from yesterday’s briefing session held in Tokyo by Mazda president and chief executive Masahiro Moro (above) is that it delivers clarity in respect to where the make is heading.

Basically, it is the second big car make in Japan after Toyota to decide there is no one perfect solution, so it prefers a multi-dimensional powertrain plan.

Even though it showed off a new EV platform (below), it also made clear it isn’t set to rush towards a fully electric future.

Instead it is keen to offer a full sweep of electric, plug-in hybrid, hybrid and eventually maybe even hydrogen power.

What degree New Zealand will embrace this? Still to be sorted, Sherley says. Market conditions and consumer preferences cannot be ignored. Keeping hybrids living alongside full electrics is a particular commitment, but will that happen here?

“For us it's ensuring we have the right powertrains at the right time.”

Yesterday’s announcement means “we’re really putting some timelines around what we're doing and how we're doing it. We have a number of different solutions available for our customers, and everything we're doing still focuses on the joy of driving philosophy.”

Regional impetus will definitely be with SkyActiv-Z, the latest generation of Mazda’s lean burn engines that now deliver in all its products sold here.

The SkyActiv-Z family sets out to meet stringent Euro7 emissions regulations and is designed around the idea of 'Lambda 1', or keeping an ideal fuel-air mixture at all parts of the engine's power band, maximising efficiency and minimising emissions.

As well as being for CX-5, this technology will also introduce on, and thus future-proof, the six-cylinder petrol and four-cylinder petrol hybrid engines that place in the CX-60, CX-80 and CX-90 sports utilities here.

Those vehicles have found strong acceptance here, Sherley said, with the 3.3-litre inline six, which marries with 48 volt assistance, doing particularly well.

“The take up (for the six-cylinder) has been very strong actually.”

Buyer feedback is appreciative. Customers see the in-line six as “quite a unique powertrain … it’s also been very, very positively received.

“The performance, the fuel efficiency, the sound. It gives us quite a point of difference to other competitors in the market.”

Moro also confirmed Hiroshima is working on a next-generation of all-electric vehicles.

Already out of the blocks is the gorgeous new Mazda 6e sedan (below), built in China with local partner Changan Automobile. It’s soon to go on sale in Europe and the United Kingdom - the latter lends opportunity for other right hand drive markets to follow.

Also indicated are a compact sports utility to be built in Thailand and a medium SUV which is potentially sharing the same platform as the 6e and has yet to be seen in its production form. It will feature an all-new, more efficient battery pack designed in collaboration with Panasonic.

Some are already calling the latter electric CX-5; Sherley prefers to steer clear of that descriptive.

Mazda NZ’s excursion with the make’s debut electric, the MX-30, was a rough time.

The small city-centric SUV came out in mid-2021 but it and a subsequent mild hybrid sister model always struggled for interest.

The electric version is now to all intents and purposes removed from New Zealand sale - all stock is exhausted and the factory’s focus is now on a range extender edition with a teensy rotary engine. But it’s not for NZ; the factory won’t sign off for sale here.

Sherley says electric drivetrains are still of interest and though the Thailand-made car isn’t going to be available, the other two conceivably could be. He likes the look of both.

In respect to the SUV?

“We know the SUV segments are very, very strong, and we obviously know that there's a very strong demand for electrified models in the market as well.

“It's too early to say a ‘yes or no’, but we'd always be very, very keen to look at it. It comes down to the market and the position of that vehicle and what the potential is.”

The 6e is in the same box. “I would certainly look at that as well. But again, it has to work for our market. We don't just want to take a car unless it actually has the potential to succeed in our and suit our market conditions.”

What are the imperatives for any EV to succeed? “it comes down to price, range, segment size, the competition. It has to work on a number of levels, and we're a little bit too early to fully work through those details at the moment.”

Mazda has reduced its investment in electric tech from 2 trillion Yen to around 1.5 trillion Yen, but enforces this is a signal it is losing interest in that technology.

Rather, it's reflection of commitment to make smarter investments in tech that will work instead of trying to cover every base.

Moro's plan is that by utilising existing assets and forming strong partnerships, Mazda aims to maintain quality and maximise expertise while reducing costs in areas such as electric architecture, hybrid systems, and battery and thermal management.

It says this has already been successfully demonstrated through the partnership with Changan and other technology partners like Toyota, Denso and BluE Nexus.

Also given airtime was Mazda's new programme called 'Monozukuri Innovation 2.0', which, in theory, will allow the carmaker to speed up its development process, as well as allow it to make cars more efficiently and at better costs both to itself and the consumer.

Monozukuri will see Mazda incorporate electric cars into existing production lines, which will reduce the need for investment.