The Mazda6’s Electric Successor, The EZ-6, Is A Preview of Mazda’s Electrified Future
Mazda has been a pretty quiet player in the EV space for a few years now. With the news of a new electric sedan, the EZ-6, and an SUV option, the futuristic Arata, fans and drivers have quite a bit to celebrate. Mazda announced these newest and greenest additions recently at the Auto China 2024 expo. You see a sleeker, luxurious vibe from the EZ-6, almost giving it a good chance at succeeding after a disastrous MX-30 PHEV and EV run the brand briefly had a year ago.
The issue Mazda has had thus far with its plug-in and EV lineup is a lack of general knowledge from its drivers relating to new, eco-friendly manufacturing and options. If your drivers don’t know you have a battery-powered car or SUV, they certainly won’t buy it. The range was also an issue for the MX-30 EV, as it only offered ~92 per charge. That was the lowest driving range on the market in 2022/2023, which is a big part of why the electric SUV never took off. Mazda has also pinned the EZ-6 as a “reincarnation” of the beloved Mazda 6, so this specific model has quite a bit riding on it.
With news of the EZ-6, a smaller, sleeker, and higher-performance EV coming to market in the next year or so, your expected range sits closer to 372 miles per charge. Moreover, you have specs like a 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear (BEV model), front strut suspension and rear multi-link suspension, and an electric-powered rear spoiler that improves high-speed stability. It’s fast, sexy, and a great new start to Mazda’s electric journey. We know they need it.
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Mazda.
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Mazda’s Newest EV Creation: The EZ-6
As of today, we now have confirmation of two unique electric models hitting the Asian market later in 2024 and 2025. The EZ-6, a sleek sedan model, and the Arata SUV. Both vehicles feel exciting for the brand, which up till now has had quite a rocky moment with its electrification efforts. Focusing on the EZ-6 specifically, you may be interested to know it works as a reinvention of the beloved Mazda 6, this time as a rear-wheel-drive EV.
Revealed for the Chinese market, the EZ-6 boasts an impressive estimated range of 370 miles on a single charge. The sleek sedan is in a joint effort between Mazda and the Chinese automaker Changan, focusing on aerodynamic design and class-leading performance. This would be the brand’s first swing at a performance EV, which is an interesting move, even in the Asian market where Mazda tends to do well.
More Range, More Frills
In addition to over 370 miles of expected range, the EZ-6 should be quite a beast on the road. Per Mazda, this nameplate offers a new design for the brand: long, slender headlights seamlessly integrated into a broad, squared-off grille, and towards the back, long, slender headlight seamlessly integrated into a broad, squared-off grille. Retractable wings at the rear also give a nod to Mazda’s newest electric mission, so we’re pretty excited for this model to hit roadways.
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The All-New Mazda EZ-6 Is Staying In Asia For Now
Before all of our U.S. readers go nuts over the EZ-6, this model is slated to be an Asian release when it hits the market in 2024/2025. Specifically, you can expect this sedan to be released in China by the end of this year, ramping up production through 2025. We could expect this to be a testing period for the brand with its new phase of electrification, eventually moving to the North American market if it is received well.
In tandem with the EZ-6’s debut, Mazda unveils the Arata, an electrifying SUV concept slated for production in China by 2025. This gives us one sedan and one SUV to play with, although the brand has been hush-hush regarding any US models hitting the roads. The CX-30 plug-in hybrid and EV did very poorly due to timing and specs, so Mazda may be stepping cautiously through this next chapter.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
As of 2024, Mazda has a couple of hybrids for sale, including the CX-90 and CX-70 PHEV. That said, we have not had a dual announcement for EVs ever, so this Chinese auto event is great news for the brand’s broader electrification and mission.
The EZ-6 already has a great selling point, previous drivers of the Mazda 6, so that puts it at a great launch point. Mazda could do quite a bit with this in the marketing department, and with a design this good, they don’t have to do much. 2024 and 2025 should be very large years for electric and hybrid Mazda nameplates: We’re calling it now.
Additionally, Mazda plans to offer the EZ-6 as a plug-in hybrid variant, promising a substantial driving range of approximately 620 miles.
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Looking Inside And Outside The EZ-6
Describing the Mazda EZ-6’s interior and exterior detailing is one of the most exciting parts of this recent announcement. Looking inside, you will see this electric sedan boasts things like a 14.6-inch central touchscreen that takes center stage, complemented by a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster.
From there, the wireless charging pad and elegant wood trim make this sedan feel luxurious, also allowing each rider their space and comfort. Many sedans and even crossovers fail to make the passenger experience a priority, which doesn’t appear to be an issue inside this Mazda nameplate. Of course, testing of the EZ-6 is sparse, we don’t fully know what everything is like IRL at this point.
The Outside Of Mazda EZ-6 Is Iconic Already
As we’ve mentioned before, the exterior of the EZ-6 is the perfect homage to the Mazda 6 while building up an iconic, aerodynamic vibe. This four-door EV boasts the following:
- A full-width light bar with similar LED tail lighting
- Circular front-end elements
- A retractable wing to enhance stability at higher speeds
Again, we do not have the specifics for this model yet, so exterior details and interior specs will come slowly as they hit the market.
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Is Electric Design Mazda’s New Superpower?
When the time comes for the EZ-6 to hit Chinese streets later this year, the world will get a taste of Mazda’s newest electric endeavor. We do have a PHEV in the United States, although this is not as exciting as the sedan and SUV coming to Asia soon. Let this next year be a testing point for Mazda and its subsidiaries to see whether their inevitable EV takeover can roll over to the North American side of the world.
As of 2024, Mazda has plans to go green by having 25 to 40 percent of its international sales be electric vehicles by 2030, although this may still fail to meet EPA standards in the United States. If we were them, it would be best to roll out at least one EV annually heading into 2030, expanding on their already successful gas-powered lineup. Of course, there could be a method to this madness, and we’ll have to sit back and watch it unfold in the next few years. Whatever the case, the EZ-6 marks a new day for EV manufacturing at Mazda. They CAN do it.
