Mazda presents electric saloon for China
The EZ-6 will be the successor to the previous combustion-powered Mazda6 saloon – just with an electric drive, albeit not exclusively electric. Mazda announced that it will offer the saloon as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a range of around 600 kilometres and as a plug-in hybrid. Technical data for both versions is not yet available. A report from Carscoops suggests that the plug-in hybrid will be designed more as a range extender – where the combustion part of the drive is used exclusively to generate electricity on board.
Regardless of whether it is a PHEV or a range extender, as the vehicle still has to accommodate combustion components, the new EZ-6 looks like a conventional combustion saloon from the outside with a long bonnet and correspondingly long overhangs, ensuring classic proportions. There is also a radiator grille (closed on the electric version) in the typical Mazda design.
Regarding technology, the Japanese manufacturer relies on a platform from joint venture partner Changan. As Carscoops writes, the EZ-6 will be based on Changan’s EPA1 architecture – like the Deepal SL03. This Deepal saloon has a 163 kW electric motor and an LFP battery from CATL, which enables a range of 700 kilometres in the Chinese CLTC standard test. The SL03’s range extender uses a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine to generate electricity and has a 192 kW electric motor. However, at 4.92 metres, the Mazda counterpart will be around ten centimetres longer than the Deepal, while the width (1.89 metres) and height (1.49 metres) are the same.
Car News China speculates that the range extender version of the EZ-6 could use a combustion engine from Mazda. The report also considers it possible that Mazda will launch a dual-engine version with all-wheel drive – the SL03 only has rear-wheel drive. However, until Mazda publishes the technical data, this remains speculation.
At Auto China, Mazda also presented the Arata, a design concept for an electrified SUV that will be developed into a production model called the EZ-60. Details are not yet known. However, as this model is also intended for the Chinese market, it is likely that the Changan platform will be used.
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