Mazda has confirmed
the official unveiling of its first mass-produced electric vehicle for the 2019
Tokyo Motor Show that’ll be held in Japan’s capital between October 25 and
November 4. The automaker has refrained from announcing any details about its
EV except that it’s “a completely new model”. Prototypes that we’ve already
seen wore the body of the CX-30 compact crossover over a new, electric
platform, which doesn’t really say much about the production model’s actual
shape.
Not much is known
about the powertrain either, although the prototypes did feature a 35.5 kWh
battery pack. The range is another big unknown, yet cars usually featuring a
similarly-sized battery can travel for more than 241 km on a single
charge. That would be almost as much as you get from the new Mini Cooper SE,
with the subcompact hatchback featuring a 32.6 kWh lithium-ion battery that’s
good enough for an 270-km range.
Performance should
be decent, as Mazda’s first electric vehicle is believed to pack a single
electric motor, producing 141 HP and 265 Nm of torque. Thanks to the instant response of the electric powertrain, the as-yet-unnamed
zero-emission car should be fairly agile from a standstill.
Aside from the
battery-electric powertrain, which will probably be aimed at markets such as
Europe, China and Japan, it could also be sold with a range extender in America
– and it might just be the one to bring back the rotary engine that’s been in
development for a few years now and was confirmed by Mazda itself last year at
the Paris Auto Show.
