Author: EVAI

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An electrified successor to the Mazda 6 mid-size sedan goes on sale in China later this year, but prospects for the U.S. are unclear.

Unveiled at the 2024 Beijing auto show, the Mazda EZ-6 combines the Japanese automaker’s signature design flair with powertrain tech from Changan Automobile, Mazda’s Chinese partner. Mazda hasn’t confirmed sales plans for other markets.

The rear-wheel drive EZ-6 will be available with plug-in hybrid and all-electric powertrains, with the latter delivering an ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution and a maximum range of 373 miles, as measured on the Chinese testing cycle. Mazda also estimates 621 miles of total range from both a full battery and a single tank of fuel for the plug-in hybrid.

2025 Mazda EZ-6

The EZ-6 measures 193.7 inches long, making it about 4.5 inches longer than the last Mazda 6, which left the U.S. market after the 2021 model year. While Mazda touted the efficiency of the final-generation model’s Skyactiv internal-combustion engines, it was never available with electrified powertrains.

Mazda didn’t discuss other specifications, but confirmed that Changan is responsible for the EZ-6’s powertrains and connectivity tech. Such tech includes gesture controls and voice recognition, supplementing a large horizontal infotainment touchscreen.

The Chinese focus of the EZ-6 means Mazda’s electrification plans for the U.S. remain hard to parse.

2025 Mazda EZ-6

Mazda created the MX-30 EV for the U.S. (and Europe) as a shorter-range EV with an available range-extended rotary version, reflecting corporate thinking that longer-range EVs aren’t the future. But it’s already cut those models from the lineup. It might be just as well, as the range-extended version in particular was a plug-in puzzle that didn’t make a lot of sense for real-world use.

Mazda and Panasonic last year finalized an agreement for cylindrical EV batteries, and Mazda also showed the Iconic SP hybrid concept, which traded heavily on the heritage of the rotary-engine RX-7 sports car. But plug-in hybrids aside, all of this chatter hasn’t led to any actual electrified models for the U.S.

Toyota announced on Thursday that it plans to build a new three-row battery-electric SUV in Princeton, Indiana, with a corresponding $1.4 billion investment in the plant. 

The company emphasizes that this announcement comes in addition to the recent $1.3 billion investment in the automaker’s Kentucky plant, to build a separate three-row battery-electric SUV, starting in 2025. 

In other words, yes, Toyota will have two different three-row electric SUVs. A report from earlier this month pegged one of those EVs as a fully electric Toyota Highlander EV—with a potential Lexus TZ sibling. A Thursday report from Automotive News suggests that with this vehicle due for Indiana in 2026, the Kentucky plant’s EV due for production in 2025 might be a Toyota bZ5X. 

2023 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD

Reports have suggested that Toyota is having second thoughts about the bZ nomenclature for EVs, and as such it’s unclear which of these two SUVs—the Highlander EV or bZ5X—would be the more premium one, or how they might coexist. 

The best hint of the latter vehicle came in May 2023, when Toyota said that its 2026 EVs would be built on three different platforms—a software platform, an electronic platform, and a body and chassis platform. Toyota also said then that it was completely rethinking the manufacturing process for EVs. So it’s possible the Kentucky EV could represent all of these advancements while, as Automotive News points out—seemingly agreeing with this alignment—the Indiana EV will be a “chassis-based” one sharing components with gasoline models. 

Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept

Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept

Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept

So the big Land Cruiser Se concept shown at Tokyo in October 2023 might be pushed toward Kentucky production, with a somewhat smaller Highlander EV to follow in Indiana. 

In May 2023, Toyota said that it planned to launch 10 new EVs, ranging from luxury vehicles to compact cars and commercial vehicles, “mainly in the United States and China,” by 2026. That would help Toyota reach what it called a 1.5-million-EV “baseline” in 2026. 

With Thursday’s announcement, the automaker will also add a new battery pack assembly to its $13.9 billion battery facility in North Carolina, due to start production in 2025 for a range of electrified vehicles. According to Toyota, the Indiana EV announcement itself adds up to “340 new, sustainable U.S. jobs.”

2024 Lexus TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid

As Toyota points out, the Indiana plant already employs 7,500 workers and makes the Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan, Toyota Highlander and Grand Highlander SUVs, which are offered in hybrid and non-hybrid versions. It also makes the Lexus TX, which is offered in standard, hybrid, and TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid variants. 

GM reveals more about what will turn its EVs into backup power for the home. Mini shows its Aceman EV. And EV sales are set to make gains in the U.S. and globally in 2024. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. 

The Mini Aceman urban EV has been revealed, and it quite closely follows the 2022 concept car of the same name. If this model arrives in the U.S., it would fit between the Cooper and Countryman in the brand’s lineup. 

GM this past week released details regarding the home energy backup functionality that’s available for its Chevy Silverado EV RST electric pickup as vehicle-to-home (V2H). Does it make sense versus other EVs claiming this skill set—or home battery systems like the Tesla Powerwall?

According to the International Energy Agency, in an annual report and forecast out this week, EVs are set for 11% of the U.S. vehicle share, and about 20% of all cars sold globally. Because of all the battery investment, automaker commitments, and emissions regulations, half of new vehicles sold globally could be EVs, it says.

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GM last week announced details regarding its vehicle-to-home (V2H) system, set to launch with the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, that will help EV owners back up their home without the help of a storage battery like a Tesla Powerwall or a backup generator. 

It’s ultimately part of GM’s big energy play that sees EVs becoming home power banks and more. Trucks like the Silverado EV are literally huge mobile battery packs, with this truck’s massive 205-kwh capacity the equivalent of 15 Powerwalls. Even making a small portion of the pack available should be enough to power an American home for days.

According to GM the V2H bundle will initially only be available for purchase in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Texas.

“We are closely tracking interest in other states and laser focused on delivering an unparalleled experience for our customers, and we will be able to share more about the availability of the products throughout the U.S. in future updates,” GM spokesperson Sanaz Marbley said to Green Car Reports. 

GM Energy app

The automaker has a bigger vision for the product. GM once again noted with the announcement that it plans to expand V2H bidirectional charging technology across all its Ultium-based EVs by model year 2026. It confirmed that the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, 2024 Cadillac Lyriq, and the future Cadillac Escalade IQ will also be part of that rollout. It’s more recently clarified that these products won’t be walled off to a GM Energy app, as previously envisioned (pictured above) but instead as part of their respective brand apps—for Chevy, GMC, or Cadillac, for instance.

In the case of the Chevy Blazer EV, GM has already confirmed that models delivered from the start have all the hardware needed for compatibility with these GM Energy components, but the software to use it won’t be in place until sometime later in the year. 

GM Energy home bundle – displayed with Chevy Blazer EV

Batteries included, other hardware needed

The GM Energy Powershift Charger that’s initially mandatory to access the vehicles’ bidirectional functionality will cost $1,699. It’s good for charging at 19.2 kw AC, while discharge power from the unit is DC and peaks at 9.6 kw. 

The other necessary piece, the V2H Enablement Kit, costs $5,600 and includes an inverter, a grid disconnect switch, and the 12-volt dark-start battery necessary to move the contactors (think heavy-duty switch) in the case of a power outage. That brings the total component cost to $7,299. 

For those who want it all on the GM ecosystem, GM Energy stationary energy storage and solar integration will both also be available for purchase starting later this year. 

GM cautions that installation costs for the equipment are based on a number of factors, including where you live, the age of your home and electrical panel, the location of the panel, and your servicing electric utility. 

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV with GM Ultium Home energy system

Chevy V2H: Like Ford, leave thousands for installation

GM is by no means first-on-market with this functionality, as the Ford Home Integration System has already been available for nearly two years. Working with the Charge Station Pro, which is already included with large-pack versions of the F-150 Lightning, it includes hardware that perform those same roles, allowing owners to use energy from their truck to back up the home. Tesla is also offering a Powershare feature with the Cybertruck—permitting 11.5 kw of home backup power through the charge port and claiming no additional equipment would be needed for homes already equipped with a Powerwall and its Wall Connector. Tesla points to a typical installation cost of $2,000 to $3,500 excluding the cost of the equipment, which would at minimum be an $1,800 Gateway in addition to a compatible wall connector.

Ford’s installation of the home system relies on solar provider SunRun. A page from SunRun that appears to have been updated since the original launch, now says the system costs $8,900 to $9,400 to install including the Ford Charge Station Pro, which may be a redundant piece. Ford originally told Green Car Reports that a best-case-scenario installation—not requiring a new panel or service upgrade—would cost about $6,000, including the hardware. Ford hasn’t responded about updated installation costs for the system, and based on other reports and feedback from owners, it’s likely to cost thousands more for many households. 

EV home backup and the shift to Tesla NACS

The other big question that’s been left unanswered by GM is whether this system would be forward-compatible with other EVs, via an adapter, after GM switches to the Tesla-based NACS connector from its vehicles’ current CCS connector. As NACS has been standardized, it does support V2X technologies, so while there will be workarounds within the standards, it’s not yet been spelled out by any executive, as far as Green Car Reports is aware, as to whether or not this would require a new generation of hardware. 

As of yet, the list of other EVs that can power the home is a short one. The Kia EV9 can provide home backup, with hardware from Wallbox, and the Volvo EX90’s bidirectional charging features will be the start of an energy business tapping into its EVs’ bidirectional charging features. Both of these options might shift in hardware, if not functionality, when NACS arrives. 

GM Energy – Ultium Home

The other issue, of course, is that the vehicle has to be plugged in to provide home backup power. So if you’re going through a brownout and need to go out on an errand, or if a downed tree keeps you from reaching your garage, it means no power. For this scenario, it’s likely some homeowners will, in the future, be combining V2H vehicles with even smaller battery backup.

If that’s enough unease to stick with whatever EV you’re driving at this point, the Tesla Powerwall is currently at $9,300, minus a 30% tax credit plus installation. So while the hardware goes through yet another iteration, potentially, simply backing your home up with a Tesla Powerwall might be cheaper and a safer bet at the moment—if you don’t need to move your battery backup around on wheels.