He reiterated that by 2030, all Mazda vehicles will have some sort of electrification, and that obviously includes sports cars, too. Thanks to efforts to make the combustion engine cleaner and the development of synthetic fuels, Mazda believes that gas-powered cars still have a place in the world. Still, at some point, an electric Miata will become inevitable. When that day comes, Mazda must be ready to instill the same qualities in an electric MX-5 that make the existing proposition so enjoyable to drive.
“We don’t want to have a very heavy MX-5,” said Matsue-san. “So if the MX-5 is 1.5 tonnes of peak weight, that is not the MX-5. What I can say is the MX-5 is our symbol. If the MX-5 becomes a battery EV, that battery EV should have very special characteristics, […] centric of our basic concept philosophies. That’s our hope.”
This is similar to what we were previously told by one of Mazda’s vehicle development engineers, who promises electrification would only happen if the Miata stayed true to its core ideals.
