Mazda officially opened the order books on its new Mazda EZ-6 EV and EREV versions of the car in China yesterday. And the starting price? It’s under $25,000.
Co-developed by Mazda and Chinese state-owned Changan Auto, the EZ-6 was one of two new electric offerings that debuted back in April. The other was a CX-5/0-sized crossover called the Arata, but the EZ-6 seemed closer to production, with a promised on-sale date later this year.
Well, Mazda lived up to its promise. The all-new Mazda EZ-6 is officially available for pre-order in China. And, while our sources (Chinese car blogs Autohome and CarNewsChina) are a bit fuzzy on the actual price, the translation seems to indicate a starting price of just 160,000 yuan (a tick over $22,800, as I type this).
One thing that’s less fuzzy, however, is that there are four extended range EV, or “EREV” versions of the car (read: hybrid) along with three fully electric BEV versions available for order at the pre-sales launch.
Value for money
Despite the low price, the base version of the newest Mazda get leather seating surfaces, and higher trim versions splice leather and suede (Alcantara?) together. There’s a 14-speaker Sony audio system available, too, along with 64-color ambient lighting, “zero-gravity” front seats, which means that the seats can recline to a near-flat position, and a panoramic glass roof.
The BEV model is reported to be equipped with a single electric drive motor putting out 190 kW of power (approx. 254 hp), and can be had with either a 56.1 or 68.8 kWh battery pack, good for a CLTC range of 480 km or 600 km (about 370 miles), respectively. Top speed of either model is an electronically-limited 170 km/h (105 mph).
The “EREV” model (man, do I hate that acronym) is equipped with a 93 hp 1.5L range extending ICE generator paired to a 160 kW (215 hp) electric motor and feeding electrons to a lithium iron phosphate battery. Battery range is about 80 miles, with a “maximum comprehensive range” quoted as 1301 km (approx. 808 miles).
Electrek’s Take
Mazda’s CEO, Masahiro Moro is working with Changan to, “turn Mazda’s China business around.” The EZ-6 is part of that plan, and is being called Mazda’s first “global” sedan. Despite that, it seems unlikely that the EZ-6 will ever make it to the US.
And that’s too bad. Our roads could use a little electrified Zoom-zoom.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Mazda, via Autohome and CarNewsChina.