The 2030 petrol and diesel ban delay is “very good”, says Mazda

Not everyone in the car industry was left aghast by last month’s news that the UK’s plan to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars is being pushed back by five years. In fact, Mazda believes the move is “very good for us”.

That the Japanese brand thinks as much is hardly a surprise: having only launched the one electric car so far - the range-averse MX-30 - it’s only bringing two more to the table between now and 2025. And we still don’t know what they’ll be.

And while several manufacturers were counting on being fully electric by 2030, Mazda has merely promised to be fully electrified by the start of the next decade, predicting BEVs will account for 25-40 per cent of its sales.

According to general manager of powertrain development Kota Matsue, delaying the combustion ban until 2035 will give the industry more time to research alternative solutions to the emissions problem.

“That decision of the UK is very good for us,” he explained. “We always think battery EV is one of the solutions towards carbon neutrality, but in some other cases we have more opportunity to use the current internal combustion engine for carbon neutral fuels.

“So if the ICE ban is extended, postponed… we can have more time to look for that opportunity.”

Given its commitment to hybrid technology - Mazda sells mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids and now a rotary-engined range-extender version of the MX-30 - the company is pinning its hopes on e-fuels, although Matsue admits that distribution of carbon neutral fuel is as much of a stumbling block as inventing the stuff to begin with.

Still, the EU has approved an e-fuel exemption for its own combustion ban, so Mazda's not short of an incentive to make it happen.

Is Mazda right to want more time to decarbonise?