The Mazda CX-70andCX-90 still have no plug-in hybrid (PHEV) options in Australia despite the technology being available overseas, but the brand’s local boss reckons the company has “sufficient coverage” of PHEVs at the upper ends of the SUV market.
Speaking with CarExpert, Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi said the brand is prioritising its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs) and existing PHEV models rather than adding more versions of the relatively niche CX-70 and CX-90.
“CX-70 and CX-90, those products have that [PHEV] technology available, and we were on a path to get that compliance from a system point of view to ADRs that was underway, but what we felt was appropriate was given we offer [PHEV] technology in the CX-60 and CX-80, we have sufficient coverage of the technology in [those] two cars,” Mr Bhindi said.
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“But in saying that, when our regulators have made a very clear position, especially when it comes to the FBT benefit which they stopped for PHEVs in March last year, we think where we need to go and focus on is battery EV.
“If you’re thinking about ‘how is Mazda planning to address the NVES cost’, I say it’s a secondary cost of business challenging us as a brand, and we have three pathways to address that, or to make sure that the cost remains minimal,” Mr Bhindi continued.
“The first path is offer the technology that has the biggest and largest potential of earning credits – which are the two battery EVs [Mazda 6e and CX-6e]. Second is, and an option that has been around in other regions… is to buy discounted credits should they be available – and we think they will be available to us.
“The last option is to pass on the cost via price to the market. We want to leave that as our last option – we think the first two options will give us the opportunity to balance the books behind the scenes, to balance the portfolio; because this is a transition, this isn’t going to happen overnight – so we need to make sure we have all options available to all customers and [their] needs, rather than starting to reduce offering, change offering, bar offering, then we have a disappointed customer.
“And to further add,” Mr Bhindi continued, “these two EV [models] that we’re bringing in… VFACTS is good at giving segments based on size of the vehicle, but if you put the size of a vehicle aside and you put consumers’ affordability on a scale, really where most cars are transacted for a mum and dad [private] buyer, is between $40,000 and $60,000, probably more narrow to $45,000-$55,000, and that’s where a good chunk of the sales opportunity is, regardless of the size.
“So we’re going to compete in the bigger [mainstream mid-size] segment, and the most affordable from a budget point of view… and we’ve got two strong offerings in that segment [coming], and that should allow us to earn as many credits as possible, as long as the acceleration or the cadence of battery EV continues to be positive,” Mr Bhindi said.
“So, hopefully that gives you some sort of high-level strategy from Mazda [Australia’s] point of view. Some brands will not have all those options, and they will have a different playbook to compliance or pay the fines, and remain offering customers the options they want.”
This isn’t the first time that Mazda Australia has said it’s happy to cop NVES fines.
In October 2024, ahead of the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) coming into effect from January 1, 2025, Mr Bhindi said “we will still offer what the market wants, what the consumer wants, despite what the implications are of fines, etc, because in the end, we’re here to serve our consumers”.
At a global level, Mazda Australia and its global parent have committed to offering a range of powertrain options to meet global emissions regulations, including battery electric (EV), hybrid (HEV), mild-hybrid (MHEV) and pure internal combustion engines (ICE).
The new 6e and CX-6e have been built in collaboration with Chinese partner Changan, with Mazda’s in-house EVs still on the way and due in the coming years. Mazda’s first in-house developed hybrid will be based on the new-generation CX-5, due to launch in 2027.
In the first year of NVES, Mazda Australia accrued 508,517 penalty units based on its 2025 new vehicle sales. For brands like Mazda that have an interim emissions value above zero in 2025, they’ll need to trade units with another company by December 31, 2027 or risk a penalty in February 2028 of $50 multiplied by their final emissions value.