Mazda Tepid on Hybrids

Mazda Motor Corp. may share vehicle platforms with a trio of pending Ford Motor Co. hybrid-electric vehicles, but the Japanese auto maker has no plans to offer HEV technology in its own versions.

“We looked at the (Ford) hybrid Escape program and as of right now we're not going to participate,” says Robert Davis, senior vice president-marketing and product development, Mazda North American Operations.

The Mazda Tribute cross/utility vehicle shares a platform with the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, which also is slated for HEV treatment. And the Mazda6 architecture, meanwhile, also will be called on for a Ford-badged HEV midsize sedan.

“It gets down to primarily an economics model of our dealer network,” says Davis. There would be a cost of entry for each of MNAO's 700 dealers to have the service capability, “which really doesn't make sense for us.” While the exact cost still is undefined, it potentially is quite expensive, says Davis.

Ford has the resources and infrastructure within its dealer body to be able to service HEVs, Mazda does not, says John W. Mendel, a Ford appointee who is MNAO's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The other unknown factor is the size of the segment, which makes it hard to assess whether the investment is worth it, both at the dealer level and in terms of product development, says Davis. “My comfort level wasn't there with spending the money to get into the program.”

If the market for hybrids booms, Mazda has the luxury of being able to change its mind quickly, knowing Ford has done the legwork and the technology is inhouse.

“We can tap into that any time we want,” says Mendel. “If (demand) jumps off the map and we need to get in there, we've got that technology available to us. That's part of the opportunity that exists for us.”

Davis says Mazda wants to hold off on hybrids until the technology better mates with the image it is trying to build for the brand.

“It's got to be ‘zoom zoom’ first. It's got to get through that first filter. And the hybrids now and in the near future are really good cars. Toyota (Motor Corp.'s) done a great job with it, but it's not anywhere close to ‘zoom zoom.’ It's whuzz, whuzz.”