Mazda EZ-6 electric car is coming to Europe

Mazda has revealed that its EZ-6 all-electric saloon will be released in Europe later this year.

The sleek rival to the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 was revealed at the Beijing motor show in April and was initially thought to be exclusively for the Chinese market as the first product from Mazda’s tie-up with China’s Changan. However, it now seems Mazda intends to export it further afield after signing an agreement for Changan to be its ‘new energy R&D and production base facing the global market’.

According to reports citing Mazda directly, Europe and China will be the first territories to get the EZ-6, launching this autumn. There’s no word on whether it will definitely come to the UK but its release could help Mazda in boosting its EV sales.

Currently, the disappointing MX-30 is the company’s only EV and it accounts for a tiny proportion of Mazda sales. The EZ-6 is intended as a replacement for the Mazda6 and would give the company a contender in the increasingly fierce and popular executive saloon segment.

Competing with Tesla, Polestar and models such as the BMW i4 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, the EX-6 is built on a platform supplied by Changan that can accommodate pure EV or plug-in hybrid technology.

In all-electric form, Mazda says it will use a 218bhp rear-mounted motor and should cover around 375 miles, although there’s no work on the specifics of the battery.

Like the handsome Mazda6, the EZ-6 is apparently based on Mazda’s “Soul of Motion” design philosophy. That basically means, clean, simple flowing lines and a very traditional saloon look, with a simple, premium interior.

Like the 6, Mazda also says the EZ-6 focuses on a connection between driver and car, with perfect 50:50 weight distribution and a focus on delivery instinctive and linear handling and braking.

The only fly in the ointment for Mazda is that the car will be built exclusively in China, meaning it’s subject to tough new EU tariffs. However, with no such tariffs on EVs coming into the UK, we might get lucky and see the EZ-6 on our shores.