The car will have limited availability, while the automaker continues to focus on gas-powered vehicles |
Mazda is developing its own electric car for leasing in Japan
starting in spring 2012, joining the rush to develop green vehicles, an
area in which it's lagging General Motors, Nissan and other rivals.
The electric vehicle will be based on the car maker's Demio
subcompact, called the Mazda2 overseas, and will have a driving range of
120 miles (200 kilometers) on a single charge, Mazda said
"We think time will be needed for electric vehicles to
become widespread, but there is a definite need for short-range
commuters," said Mazda Motor Corp. President and Chief Executive Takashi
Yamanouchi in announcing the plan at an evening news conference at a
Tokyo hotel.
The Japanese automaker, based in Hiroshima, declined to give details
on what battery it was going to use – the key component in an electric
vehicle – apart from saying it would be lithium-ion. Nor would it give
details of price, overseas sales plans or target numbers.
It is common for companies in the intensely competitive auto industry
to be reticent about revealing business plans, especially on a product
that's a year away in coming.
Speculation has been rife that Mazda – a relatively small player,
producing 1.2 million vehicles a year – would fall behind in
expensive-to-develop ecological technology after its U.S. partner Ford
Motor Co. gradually reduced its stake over the years in Mazda to its
current level of about 3.5 percent.
Mazda officials said they expect electric vehicles to make up about 5 percent of the world's auto market by 2020.
It has other green technologies for gas engines, such as more
efficient transmissions and weight reduction, which will make up the
majority of sales for some time, they said.
Leasing of its electric vehicle will be mainly to government
organizations and company "fleet" customers, not individuals, according
to Mazda.
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