Mazda Australia says it will take all the electric vehicles it can get

Once considered a laggard in the electric vehicle space, Mazda is set to introduce 13 electrified models by 2025 – and Mazda Australia wants as many of them as it can get.

The parent company has previously indicated 13 electrified models are in the pipeline – three full electric vehicles (EVs), five plug-in hybrid EVs and five 'conventional' hybrids.

The cohort of new-era vehicles is set to be followed by a dedicated electric-only platform that will lead the brand on to 2030.

When asked about the prospect of those vehicles launching in Australia, Mazda managing director Vinesh Bhindi told CarAdvice: "If you look at our current portfolio and you look at what Mazda corporation produces, we are probably the only market that has most of what they produce available for sale.

"Our going-in proposition has always been, if it’s produced by Mazda, if it’s available to our market, if it makes [business] sense and consumers want it – we will absolutely consider it for our market.

Bhindi said: "We will [embrace new models] and then consider afterwards if it’s not possible – why not?"

Talking about larger Mazda vehicles and how they might involve electrification, marketing and product director Alastair Doak said: "We’ve talked about 48-volt mild hybrid, inline six-cylinder, plug-in hybrids, all of these things… obviously we’ll be putting our hand up for all of them.

"To talk specific models off those architectures, we can’t do that at this point. But you can imagine where the priorities will be in terms of consumer tastes in this market, and consumer tastes globally, [which] currently is really all about SUV more than anything else. So that will obviously be the priority."

These comments support previously-released images that show 48-volt mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains paired to six-cylinder petrol engines – a powertrain slated to be introduced to Mazda’s larger models from 2022.

Asked specifically what form future battery-electric vehicles in particular would take, Bhindi couldn’t provide further details: "Mazda Corporation has committed to three EVs by 2025, but what that looks like you’ll have to wait a little bit longer.”

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