Mazda Late to Push the Pedal on EcoFriendly Vehicles to catch up with other Japanese AutoMajors

Mazda the Japanese Automobile Producer has decided to double the R&D spending on Eco-Friendly Vehicles over the next 5 years.The Company has decided to up the percentage spend on Green Automobile Technology to 40% by 2015 from 20% at present.This implies almost $450 million in annual R&D spend on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.Mazda has been a latecomer to the new generation Green Automobiles.Like Honda,Mazda trails Toyota and Nissan in the EV and Hybrid Car Technology.

Mazda has already tied up with Toyota to fast track the development of Hybrid Vehicles,the first one which it plans to introduce by 2013.Note Honda and Toyota have already introduced Hybrid Cars and Mazda will face tough competition as it is a latecomer to the Hybrid Party.Other AutoMakers around the world like Hyundai,GM,Ford,Geely,BYD are already well on the way to introducing Green Cars.

Mazda is the 5th largest automaker in Japan and had recently raised $1 billion to invest in Hybrid Technologies.The company has signed an agreement with Hybrid Leader Toyota to license its Prius Hybrid Technology in order to give it a leg-up in the Green Car Competition.

Mazda to shift R&D spending toward green cars – Reuters

Mazda Motor Corp will devote a larger proportion of R&D funding to the development of hybrids and other environmentally friendly vehicles, raising the ratio from just above 20 percent in fiscal 2010 to about 40 percent in fiscal 2015, the Nikkei business daily said.

In the current fiscal year, the carmaker earmarked 100 billion yen for group R&D spending, up 15 billion yen from fiscal 2009, of which slightly more than 20 percent will go toward developing green cars, the paper said.

Toyota to supply hybrid technology to Mazda – ET

Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor announced a deal under which Japan’s top automaker will supply its hybrid technology under licence to Mazda, in the latest link-up within the fast-evolving auto industry. Japan’s No.1 and No.5 carmakers have been discussing the possibility behind the scenes since last spring as the popularity of gasoline-electric cars surged in Japan with the help of generous government subsidies.Among others, archrivals Daimler AG and BMW AG are also working together on hybrid development. A Toyota-Mazda pairing also highlights a distancing of Mazda from top shareholder Ford Motor Co, which is among the few automakers today with a proprietary hybrid system after it initially licensed some technology from Toyota.