[Auto/Moto] Mazda teases an EV Mazda6 sedan with China show car

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TOKYO — Mazda killed off the Mazda6 sedan in North America with the 2021 model year, but the Japanese carmaker could be teasing its possible resurrection as a full electric vehicle. Mazda Motor Corp., a longtime laggard in the global EV race, plans to launch only its second battery-electric vehicle this year, in China. That car's name is the Mazda EZ-6 sedan. The sporty, rear-slung four-door with a plush interior was unveiled April 25 at the Beijing auto show, along with the Arata electrified crossover concept. Both vehicles are being pitched with China in mind, but their rear-wheel-drive layout and tweaked styling could foreshadow how Mazda handles a wave of global EVs headed to the U.S. The EZ-6 will be offered in full EV and plug-in hybrid variants to take advantage of China's new-energy vehicle incentives. It goes on sale there by the end of 2024, the company said. The Arata points the way to a Mazda crossover entry in the new-energy vehicle segment. Mazda said the EZ-6 is the first in a series of electrified vehicles for China that the company is developing with its local partner Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. The EZ-6 uses Mazda's design and vehicle control technology along with an EV platform developed by Changan. Leaning on Changan is crucial because Mazda is still developing an in-house dedicated EV platform. That scalable platform will underpin EVs that debut in the 2025-27 time frame. In 2030, Mazda plans to have a lineup of seven or eight EV models, and expects full EVs to make up 25 to 40 percent of its global sales by then, up from just 1 percent now. Collaborating with Changan helps Mazda supply the China market with an EV faster. Like other international brands, Mazda is struggling to respond to surging Chinese demand for electrified vehicles. Mazda's lack of EVs has hurt sales in the world's biggest auto market. The company's sales in China dropped 21 percent to 84,949 vehicles in 2023, denting a 12 percent increase in its global total. The automaker's first full EV, a battery-powered version of the MX-30, was dropped in the U.S. after the 2023 model year. The slow-selling subcompact crossover is still on sale in Japan and Europe. Mazda doesn't disclose its EV sales figures, but it says the ratio is about 1 percent of global volume. That would equate to about 12,400 of the 1.24 million vehicles it sold worldwide in 2023. Size-wise, the EZ-6 is in the ballpark of the Mazda6 midsize sedan. The five-seat car shown in Beijing is a little longer, wider and taller than the front-wheel-drive Mazda6, which is still manufactured and sold in Japan. The EZ-6 will achieve Mazda-style handling thanks to its 50:50 weight distribution, rear multilink suspension and electric-powered rear spoiler that boosts stability, the company said. Mazda expects the EZ-6 to cover 600 kilometers (372 miles) on a full charge, under the China Light-Duty Vehicles Test Cycle, which generally gives higher range estimates than U.S. EPA ratings. The Arata crossover plays with a new EV design language featuring air tunnels at the front-end tips of the hood, on both sides of the front bumpers and inside the D-pillars. Mazda says the tunnels not only improve aerodynamics, they lend a "futuristic sense" to the vehicle's styling. Out back, the rear combination lamp gets a "cross-wing" look with two overlapping wing-shaped lights that offer a new take on Mazda's traditional circular taillamp motif. Both the Arata and EZ-6 evolve the brand's Kodo design language with an inverted nose and a minimized grille featuring lighting that emphasizes the underside of Mazda's trademark five-point shield. The electrified versions also get slit-like headlamps for a more technical look.

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