Gas Drivers

People want what they can afford:

Speaking with Automotive News, Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro said ICE has a long future in America. Even at the end of the decade, traditional gas cars and mild-hybrid models will make up about two-thirds of annual sales. Plug-in hybrids and EVs will represent the remaining third. In other words, most vehicles will still have a gas engine five years from now. "Customers are looking for affordable solutions rather than electrified solutions. They are looking for better value. They are still looking for a reliable internal combustion engine. But we will be capable of making everything some version of electrified, including mild hybrid. Looking at US customers, they are looking for better, reliable engines." Mazda's head honcho primarily referred to entry-level models, specifically the 3 and CX-30. Moro believes EV growth in the US has slowed down in the last 18 months or so, adding the trend will likely continue in the foreseeable future. That buys the company more time to develop a lithium-ion battery entirely in-house. The goal is to have it ready for 2030 in plug-in hybrids and purely electric cars. Expect a much higher energy density and "very short" charging times. Interestingly, the engineers already have a "very advanced research base for solid-state batteries." In the meantime, work is underway on a two-rotor gas engine that will serve as a generator. It will be more potent than the single-rotor setup used by the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, which we mentioned earlier. In addition, Mazda is engineering a completely new gas engine, dubbed Skyactiv-Z. It will be used in production cars starting in 2027 when it will gradually replace the Skyactiv-G and Skyactiv-X powertrains.

Gas is still getting you there...