Well this was out of the blue, for the China Market ONLY (AFAIK) the EZ-6 Sedan (EV) ( see old Mazda 6) and ARATA CONCEPT (SUV EV).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well what do you think?

I don't know I cant get excited about Any EV, particularly with Mazda as they are not fast like any Tesla.

I will wait to see if anymore info comes out, but apart from China and US the world market for EVs is very poor.
People just do not like the inconvenience of 5 minutes or less to fill up a gas tank, or say a Cybertruck on a 230 Volt Household outlet taking 36 hours to a full recharge. (without any booster or 3 phase etc).

 

Body lines are aesthetically pleasing ($2 word) but, EV’s are very limiting in anything other than city driving. The idea of driving across 3 or 4 provinces (Canada) with an EV is akin to covering a brick with a terry towel cloth and pounding my forehead. Would you attempt to make a multi day journey? Or are fast charging stations widespread in Australia? Also, our last vehicle was $35,000 for an ICE model or $55,000 for the EV model. That’s a lot of gas to make the difference. Toss in the $9,000 battery in 7 years and it takes even longer to break even. I’m waiting for fuel cells to become more commonplace.

 

From what I understand, they do have a range-extender version with an engine, about 200-km full EV range in the Chinese test cycle.

BEV can be pretty convenient... As long as you have a garage to charge it, which limits the audience. Throw the cold weather, depreciation and insurance cost in the mix and you get the idea. Without government incentives, the appeal for them is pretty limited.

China is big on BEV because they don't exactly have great ICE technologies, so BEV is a good way for them to "overtake (the others) in the curve", as the saying goes in Chinese. They can also push infrastructure just for the hell of it. Not like anyone can oppose the plan. The high-speed train in China just bleeds money, but heh, it's good for the propaganda and "face", so why not?

I actually have a theory that BEV in China might become pickup trucks of North America and K-cars of Japan: the locals crave them, but they are duds outside of their domestic markets.

I think the range-extender/plug-in hybrid can have some appeal, but they cost more and require you to have charging at home to get the most out of them. Remember how people were saying Toyota will become the next Nokia? Now it's impossible to get a Toyota hybrid because of the demand, while BEVs sit in dealer lots despite the discounts and incentives.