Mazda EV and Rotary Range Extender -possibly Hydrogen powered – heading for Tokyo Motor Show

Mazda will reveal their first electric car at the Tokyo Motor Show, as well as a range extender version using a small rotary engine, possibly hydrogen powered.

Mazda has always trod its own path, and electric cars have not been something they have embraced in the way other Japanese car makers have, although that’s changing as Mazda plays with Toyota on future EVs.

But ahead of any results from the collaboration with Toyota, Mazda will deliver the first look at a new electric Mazda at next month’s Tokyo Motor Show, and once again Mazda is treading its own path.

The underpinnings for the new electric Mazda – which will be a new design, probably a Crossover – have been running around for a while in the Mazda e-TPV prototype (above), but now they’re about to arrive in new clothing.

Under the skin of the e-TPV sits a new Mazda electric powertrain powered by a relatively small 35.5kWh battery, the ideal size, say Mazda, to deliver the best balance of price, economy, performance and range.

But Mazda are also going a route with their new EV eschewed by most car makers – a range extender.

As this is Mazda, the range extender engine will be a small Rotary engine, and rumour has it that it will be a dual-fuel rotary engine, able to run on both petrol and hydrogen, offering the potential for zero emissions even when the ICE is being used.

We’ll find out more at next month’s Tokyo Motor Show.