[Auto] Sounds Like the Mazda Miata Will Keep "Pure" Combustion Power

[Ga[M]er]

Last summer, Mazda expressly confirmed it was actively looking into electrification for the Mazda Miata roadster, stating it would "work hard to make it a lightweight, affordable, open two-seater sports car in order to meet the needs of customers." It seems that hard work will be paying off at closer to the end of the decade, as more recent comments from Mazda's head of European product development indicate the MX-5 will stick to combustion engines only for as long as it can beat back increasingly strict regulations.

Back in June, Mazda announced that 25 percent of its model lineup would be fully electric, and the other 75 percent would have to be hybrid or plug-in electrified vehicles by 2030. That naturally raised some questions around the fate of the Miata, which has remained laser-focused on its compact, lightweight character for four generations so far, and exists as somewhat of an antithesis to the weight and packaging challenges that come with an EV. Mazda has confirmed a next-gen Miata will come in some form or another, but it now seems like any electrification efforts are still many years away.
Speaking to Autocar, Joachim Kunz, Mazda's head of European product development, indicated the rush to electrify Mazda's lineup could pass over the MX-5 Miata, for now: "It's our brand icon and it is always treated very specially," Kunz told Autocar. "At the moment, it looks like we will have this car forever, with this size and concept and combustion engine. Of course, some day, we will have to electrify it, but we want to keep this pure concept."
Autocar claims the next-gen Miata will not move over to the automaker's new small-vehicle architecture, and will retain a rear-wheel drive layout. Kunz also mentioned "having one generation for 10 years," so we may not see the next-gen roadster until sometime around 2024, giving the current model a few more years of gas-powered fun, too.

So what exactly does Mazda have planned? It's possible we see a heavily-reworked update of the current Miata with combustion power only in 2024. If we give it a 10-year generation like Kunz mentioned (which, admittedly, is in line with previous Miata life cycles), that could mean a mid-cycle refresh around 2029 that would then likely introduce a hybrid powertrain in order to achieve the company's stated 2030 electrification goals. At least, we hope that's Mazda's plan.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-mazda-miata-mx-5-ev-ice-rumors/