Tag: Plug-In Hybrids

Mazda last week announced an ambitious electrification strategy, including a dedicated EV platform scheduled for introduction by 2025, as well as new hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

A new Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture platform will underpin a host of new models launching between 2022 and 2025, including five hybrids, five plug-in hybrids, and three all-electric cars, a Mazda press release said. The company said the platform will accommodate transverse power units in small vehicles and longitudinal power units in larger vehicles. A transverse layout is usually associated with front-wheel-drive cars, and a longitudinal layout works most often with rear-wheel drive.

Mazda also released the pictures shown here, which show its near-term powertrains, including a rotary engine range extender, large gasoline and diesel engines with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, and a large gas engine plug-in hybrid. The rotary should be a transverse setup, while the large powertrains will be longitudinal.

Due between 2025 and 2030 will be additional all-electric models based on the EV-specific Skyactiv Scalable EV Architecture, Mazda said.

With this launch cadence, Mazda expects 100% of its lineup to save some degree of electrification by 2030, with EVs representing 25% of that total.

Mazda gasoline mild-hybrid powertrain

Mazda said the new models will target major markets like the U.S., China, Europe, and Japan, but didn’t go into further detail.

We do know the MX-30 crossover is scheduled to reach the U.S. later this year in all-electric form as a 2022 model, with a rotary range extender coming in calendar-year 2022 for the 2023 model year. It will use the CX-30’s platform. Mazda’s ongoing partnership with Toyota could lead to technology sharing as well.

The Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture appears to be the much-discussed rear-wheel-drive platform set to underpin the next-generation Mazda 6. Mazda is expected to use inline-6 engines, with displacements ranging from 3.0 liters to 3.3 liters, in vehicles based on this platform, and they could include SUVs. The vehicles will also likely use the 48-volt mild-hybrid system. A report earlier this year said the new engines and platform will arrive in SUVs initially, before the redesigned Mazda 6 sedan.

Past reports have also indicated Mazda may be working on a new sports car, possibly called RX-9, but if that happens, don’t expect it to be a Wankel-powered successor to the RX-7 and RX-8. Mazda has said its new rotary engines will be used as EV range extenders only.

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Toyota on Wednesday confirmed plans to launch two electric vehicles and a plug-in hybrid in the U.S. this year.

The new models are part of a large-scale electrified-vehicle push. By 2025, Toyota wants 40% of its U.S. vehicle sales to be electrified models, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery-electric cars, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, a company press release said. The automaker expects that to increase to nearly 70% by 2030.

Toyota U.S. electrified vehicles presentation – February 2021

No details of the two electric vehicles or the new plug-in hybrid were released, but a graphic shared by Toyota revealed that one of the EVs appears to be a sedan. The automaker unveiled a handful of EV designs in 2019, and last year confirmed a partnership with Subaru for an electric SUV that will likely be sold under both brands. Toyota also confirmed that it is developing a dedicated EV platform called e-TNGA, and previously said it was working on solid-state batteries for future electric cars.

Toyota has largely avoided battery-electric vehicles, pitching fuel cells as an alternative zero-emissions technology, and continuing to push the hybrid technology it pioneered with the Prius. As recently as December 2020, company president Akio Toyoda opined that there was too much hype surrounding electric cars.

Toyota future electric vehicle designs – 2019

Wednesday’s announcement indicated Toyota hasn’t completely changed its stance on EVs. The company said internal research showed that battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have “similar environmental benefits.” Greenhouse gas emissions are “roughly the same” for the two powertrains when factoring in emissions from U.S. grid electricity production, according to Toyota.

However, that contradicts what the Union of Concerned Scientists has calculated in its annual studies of EV emissions. There is almost nowhere in the U.S. where an EV doesn’t produce significantly lower emissions, even when factoring in grid electricity, according to the group. Furthermore, all-electric cars have the potential to get cleaner as the grid transitions to renewable-energy sources.

The Toyota release also said the the automaker is aiming for “a diversified product portfolio with multiple forms of vehicle electrification” that will “let consumers choose the model that best suits their usage needs and cost profile.” So while Toyota is introducing some electric cars, hybrids and plug-in hybrids could still account for a bigger share of sales volumes.

Toyota hasn’t sold a battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. since the Tesla-powered RAV4 EV ended production in 2014. So far, the only one of Toyota’s promised new EVs to launch has been the Japanese-market C+Pod minicar.

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