The next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata will use some form of electrification but what form will it take?
As we reported last week, during a recent interview with Japanese publication Kuruma News, managing executive officer of Mazda Motor Corporation Takeji Kojima indicated that the MX-5 Miata will continue to be offered beyond 2030, the date set by Mazda when 25 per cent of its models will be EVs and the remaining 75 per cent will feature some form of electrification. Kojima also indicated that helping the MX-5 to soldier on into a new generation could be an internal combustion engine that runs on biofuel.
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A Mazda spokesperson has since confirmed to Motor1 that the MX-5 Miata will indeed move to electrification, although it is unclear how Mazda will achieve this. If the automaker does indeed proceed with plans to keep combustion engines alive with e-fuels, it could get away with simply giving the MX-5 a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that has a compact battery pack and an electric motor to provide a small amount of all-electric range. Alternatively, Mazda could opt to make it a more traditional hybrid with a larger battery pack. Then there’s always the possibility of it becoming a plug-in hybrid, although such a configuration seems less likely.
Whatever direction Mazda takes with the next-generation MX-5, it will no doubt have one thing at the forefront of its mind: weight. One of the reasons why the Miata is so beloved is because of how small and light it is and overloading it with a large battery pack could have a detrimental impact on how it handles. With that in mind, an all-electric variant seems unlikely, at least for the foreseeable future.
