Over the past year, rumors out of Japan claimed the next Mazda Miata would be a hybrid or mild hybrid. However, the latest scoop says that the final decision hasn’t been made yet, and an electric powertrain may actually be favored for the NE Miata.
The information comes from the latest print issue of the Japanese scoop website Best Car Web. While some of their reports have been wrong, they were spot-on with the specs of the GR Corolla and perfectly predicted when the Nissan 400Z Nismo would debut.
So, what’s this about an NE Miata? It seems Mazda is currently only focusing on the rollout of the ND3, which is another facelift for the current generation, expected to debut in November 2023. While the decision hasn’t been made yet, the battery-electric solution is supposedly the only viable alternative, even though Mazda doesn’t yet have the necessary technology.
Without being mean, we’d argue Mazda’s CX-30 currently sells the worst electric vehicle, with an estimated driving range of only 100 miles. So why make a Miata EV? Well, it seems the entire Japanese auto industry is shifting towards electric mobility, and even sports cars are going electric. We recently reported how the next-gen Supra would offer both a BMW straight-six and a pure BEV setup.
Best Car says the person in charge of the Miata says the transition “hasn’t been decided yet.” However, the country’s biggest road motoring journalist Kenji Momota was at an event called Karuizawa Meeting 2023 and the takeaway was that the Miata has no choice but to become electric.
Miata hybrid not a good idea
According to Mamota-san, adding heavy hybrid technology to the ground would ruin the Miata’s weight distribution. And if weight is an issue, it’s better to just make a Miata EV with a very limited range and a light battery while preserving the 50:50 weight distribution.
The NE Miata is now expected to be a 2028 model, debuting in 2027. That’s at the very end of Mazda’s Phase 2 development program when they plan to have 25-40% of total sales based on the Skyactiv EV platform.
As Miata fans, this report doesn’t make much sense. A short-range EV is not what the current customers want. However, Toyota owns a stake in Mazda and is developing a manual gearbox for EVs which Lexus may use as well. That could be a great way to make the NE Miata more interesting.
In the meantime, the ND3 will bring a brand new headlight and taillight design, together with a new 9-inch infotainment screen. Better buy one while you can!
