Mazda Has A Completely New Electric Vehicle Coming

Automakers around the world have been scrambling to launch their own dedicatedelectric vehicles. And according to the latest, Mazda will be next.

The Zoom-Zoom brand, long known for developing unconventional andinnovative powertrains, will reveal a completely new, all-electric vehicle at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show next month. The word comes viaAutomotive Newsfrom Mazda spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai, who said that the new EV will be a "brand new model," not based on anything else it currently makes. And it could be the first Mazda to use a rotary engine since theRX-8.

Now if you're wondering why an EV would also need a rotary engine, you're on the right track. In markets like Japan, China, and Europe, the new vehicle would be a purely electric affair. But here in North America, where driving distances are longer, the vehicle is expected touse a Wankel engine as a range-extender, much like the two-cylinder motorcycle engine available in theBMW i3.

Mazda's prototypes have reportedly been running with 142 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, juiced by a 35.5-kWh battery pack – smack-dab in the middle between theHyundai Ioniq Electric's 28-kWh battery and theNissan Leaf's 40 kWh.