Mazda unveiled two new EVs, the EZ-6 electric sedan and the Arata SUV, at the Beijing Auto Show. Although Mazda’s new EVs are for China, they are what the brand is missing in the US.
Mazda’s first EV in the US, the MX-30, was discontinued after only 66 models were sold last year. It was only on the market for about two years.
The MX-30 was clearly a compliance vehicle, sold only in small numbers in California. Now, there are zero all-electric Mazda’s sold in the US. Despite the lack of success in the US, Mazda looks to take on the world’s largest EV market.
Changan Mazda, a joint venture between Mazda and Chinese state-owned Changan Auto, unveiled two new EVs as it looks to compete with BYD, Tesla, and others in the region.
“Going forward, Mazda will continue to work with Changan Automobile to turn Mazda’s China business around by introducing its unique products that meet the needs of Chinese customers,” Mazda’s CEO Masahiro Moro explained at the event.
Meet Mazda’s new EZ-6 and Arata EVs
The Mazda EZ-6 is the first EV in the series, scheduled to launch by the end of 2025. Mazda’s new electric sedan will likely replace the Mazda 6.
Although the EZ-6 is likely powered by Changan’s tech, the exterior design is clearly a Mazda. The automaker says the new EV combines Mazda’s design language and signature drive performance with Changan’s advanced EV and smart technology.
It features a 50:50 weight distribution, front strut and rear multi-link suspension, and an electric rear spoiler for improved stability at high speeds.
Inside, Mazda’s EZ-6 features zero-gravity front seats, a Sony sound system, and a wireless phone charger. It also features intelligent parking tech and voice control.
Two versions will be available: a pure electric and a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version). Although no powertrain details were released, it’s expected to have around 372 miles (600 km) CLTC driving range. The PHEV version is expected to achieve over 621 miles (1,000 km).
Meanwhile, the Mazda Arata concept. The electric SUV will be the second EV of the series, scheduled for mass production by the end of 2025.
Mazda’s Arata includes its “SOULFUL + FUTURISTIC x MODERN” design theme. It also features Mazda’s signature design blended for the Chinese market.
Now, Mazda needs to bring the new EVs to the US. Would you consider Mazda’s new EZ-6 or Arata electric SUV? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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A building of Stockholm Exergi in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 5, 2022.
He Miao | Xinhua | Getty Images
Microsoft signed a deal to remove to permanently remove 3.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide with Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi, the companies announced on Monday.
The contract with Microsoft is the world’s largest carbon removal deal to date, Stockholm Exergi said in a statement. Delivery of the carbon removal certificates to Microsoft are planned to begin in 2028 and will continue for a decade, according to Stockholm Exergi.
The Swedish company, which provides power to the people of Stockholm, plans to build a carbon capture and storage project that will permanently remove 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Construction on the carbon capture project is scheduled to start in 2025. The contract with Microsoft will help the project move closer to a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of this year, said Anders Egelrud, the CEO of Stockholm Exergi, in the statement.
The carbon capture project will be installed at Stockholm Exergi’s biomass power plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe. The plant burns waste from the forestry industry and paper mills to produce heat and electricity.
Carbon dioxide released from those materials during incineration will be removed from the gas emitted from the plant, liquified for transport and permanently stored underground.
Stockholm Exergi is selling carbon removal certificates, equivalent to 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, to help companies achieve their net-zero emissions goals.
“Leveraging existing biomass power plants is a crucial first step to building worldwide carbon removal capacity,” said Brian Marrs, Microsoft’s senior director of energy and carbon removal, in a statement.
WattEV has just opened the first electric truck charging depot in the US to use the new Megawatt Charge System, capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power, currently the highest-speed charger available in the US, along with solar and battery backup on-site and a unique partially grid-islanded setup.
WattEV says that its charge depot in Bakersfield, CA, includes the first MCS charger in North America, and the fastest as well. Tesla has a number of its own 750kW chargers deployed “behind-the-fence” in Pepsi and Tesla facilities, but this 1.2MW charger beats those in speed and is also publicly available.
MCS is a new charge standard being worked on by charging standards organization CharIN. The standard is close to being finished, though currently there aren’t really available MCS-capable trucks, or even UL-certified charging units.
As a result, WattEV’s installation is somewhat of an experiment. The site has 50 total chargers, split between 32 grid-tied 360kW CCS chargers on one side, and 3 1.2MW MCS and 15 240kW CCS chargers on the other side, attached to backup batteries and solar and fully grid-islanded.
That latter part is particularly interesting – WattEV got grants from the California Energy Commission to create this grid-islanded setup, wherein power for the chargers is fully provided by 5MW of on-site solar (which WattEV wants to expand to 25MW eventually) and 3MWh of battery backup.
WattEV could connect the setup to the grid, but between its grant from CEC, the lack of UL-certified MCS chargers, and delays that would have been caused in the permitting and interconnection process, it decided that grid-islanding half of the site would be the right decision for the time being.
The inclusion of an MCS charger promises the ability to fill a truck in the same time as a traditional truck rest stop. While trucks don’t currently have 1.2MW charging capability, WattEV wanted to be ready for when they do.
Notably, something many operators bring up is that they’re waiting for chargers before they start building or buying trucks. Here, however, we have an infrastructure provider out in the lead – building infrastructure before trucks are being built or purchased. In a world where operators have gotten used to using infrastructure as an excuse, WattEV seems uninterested in allowing them to continue to use that excuse.
Like WattEV’s other chargers, this one will be publicly available either via membership or scanning a credit card/QR code at the site. It’s near an industrial park in Bakersfield with several distribution centers and near the 99 freeway, which services the California central valley. WattEV also offers a “truck-as-a-service” model, wherein the company offers electric trucking at a set price with lower startup costs.
The charger could be of use for those distribution centers, bringing goods in from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and also for traffic in the valley, as there are many local farming facilities and produce delivery services (for example, OK Produce in Fresno, which has committed to full zero emission operations).
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