Mazda is officially slowing down its own electric vehicle program. The company has postponed the launch of its first fully proprietary EV platform until at least 2029 and at the same time almost halved its investment in this area. Instead, the brand will focus on hybrid models.
Just a few years ago, Mazda planned for electric vehicles to account for up to 40% of global sales by 2030. Now the company admits: the market is developing slower than expected, and buyers are increasingly choosing hybrids as a compromise between fuel consumption and familiar infrastructure.
Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro stated that the company has always acted cautiously and was in no hurry to invest huge sums in EV projects. According to him, the brand is reallocating engineers from electric programs back to gasoline and hybrid technologies.
It is particularly telling that Mazda is not abandoning electric vehicles entirely. The company will continue to sell models developed jointly with Chinese Changan, including the EZ-6 and EZ-60. But its own platforms and mass production of battery-powered models are being postponed. Instead, Mazda is preparing at least three new hybrids with Skyactiv-Z engines between 2028 and 2030.
Until recently, Toyota and Mazda were criticized for their too slow transition to electric traction. Now the situation looks different: Ford, GM, and Stellantis are already losing billions of dollars on EV investments and adjusting their strategies, while demand for hybrids continues to grow.
Mazda's story shows a new market trend: automakers are gradually moving away from the idea of an instant abandonment of internal combustion engines. Instead, the industry is increasingly choosing a more cautious scenario – a long transition through hybrid technologies.