Mazda preps EV for Tokyo auto show

TOKYO — Mazda Motor Corp. may pride itself on internal-combustion prowess, but it will soon unveil a full-electric vehicle it plans to start selling next year.

The EV will debut next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai confirmed. Mazda has prepared prototypes with the powertrain for test drives.

In the prototypes, the EV architecture is camouflaged under the sheet metal of the brand's new CX-30 compact crossover. But the show car taking the stage in Tokyo will be a "brand new model," Mazda says, though the company isn't saying what shape that vehicle will take.

For the prototype, the electric drivetrain gets a 35.5 kilowatt-hour battery that delivers 105 kilowatts of power with 195 pound-feet of torque.

Mazda wants to introduce the EV next year as part of its plan to gradually electrify the lineup.

The company engineered the vehicle internally, and the project is separate from the joint development work Mazda is doing as part of a Toyota-led electric vehicle consortium. Formed in 2017, that group includes Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Group supplier Denso Corp.

The upcoming EV will be available in two forms — a full electric and a range extender. The full EV will target markets such as Japan, Europe and China, where an EV can get by with a shorter range. But the range extender is seen as necessary for North America and other markets where daily drives are much longer. The range extender is expected to be powered by a small rotary engine.