Automotive Business Magazine – Q3 2026 – Digital edition - Flipbook - Page 33
INT ERVIEW
MAZDA UK
bit early to say. The car isn't likely to
appear in the UK for six months or so. We
haven't been able to showcase the car to
customers or leasing companies.
“I'm sure that the feedback will be
equally as positive about that car as it
was about the 6e. We've had a technical
car over here for evaluation for a couple
of weeks, and we have all been blown
away by it. It has been in our car park,
uncovered occasionally, and then when
people see it, they tend to stop and look
at it. I'm expecting good things.”
Keeping options open
The pair of EV launches do not mean that
Mazda has gone all-in on electric, though.
It still offers a diesel option in its larger
SUVs, as well as plug-in and mild hybrid
options across the range.
Its cautious approach is most evident
in the launch of the third-generation
CX-5, its best-selling model, which is
only available with a mild-hybrid petrol
engine. While the ICE-only CX-5 has a
BiK rate of 37%, making it unattractive
to many company car drivers, Tomlinson
believes that it will find its place in the
fleet market.
He says: “I don't anticipate company
car drivers who pay company car
tax flooding into CX-5, because it's
an internal combustion car with CO2
emissions, but we've always done
incredibly well in the personal contract
hire space with CX-5. I expect that to
continue with the new car as well.
“Whilst it isn't a company car, it is
a fleet registration, or a fleet-funded
vehicle. We expect the car to be as
equally popular as the previous CX-5,
which finished in Q1 this year.
"We're fortunate in that we've had such
a small gap between the two. In Europe,
they've been without the outgoing car for
12 months or so now.”
Mazda still sees the value in offering
customers a choice, even in the fleet
market, where there are continued
incentives for going electric.
Tomlinson says: “There’s a place for
everything. I think there's a place for
diesel. I think there's a place for petrol.
I think there's a place for hybrid, for
PHEV, and that's exactly why Mazda
has adopted a multi-solution approach
to these things. We aren't one of those
manufacturers that's gone down the
EV-only route, and I doubt we will, unless
until it becomes illegal to do anything
other than that.
"There'll be some people who live out
in the sticks, who want a diesel car that
can do 600 miles on a tank, can take less
than 10 minutes to fill up, can pull a great
big trailer and all these other things.
“I think that there's a place for
everything, and we build a great car."
Indeed, he adds that sustainability is
about more than just a blanket move to
electrification: "The reasons for phasing
out diesel, which is about it not being
clean, doesn't necessarily apply to our
engines, and there is still a long way to
go into development of ICE.”
The biggest
potential impact on
the fleet market over
the coming years is
Government approach”
The multi-solution approach goes
further than just keeping a few diesels
and petrols in the range.
Mazda has shown concept cars
powered by sustainable fuels, and even
runs its UK heritage and press fleets on
sustainable fuel.
This is not to say that sustainable fuel
will keep fleets running ICE cars for
decades to come, however.
Tomlinson explains: “It will depend on
scale. Production needs to be at scale,
because if you're running a business,
part of the reason why it was diesel
back in the day and now it's EV today, is
people want to make profit.
“They're looking to keep their costs to
a minimum, whilst also keeping an eye
on the environment. If we can get green
fuels manufactured at scale, the cost
becomes commensurate with fossil fuels,
and then I'm sure that it could play a
massive role.”
Mazda itself looks to play its part,
keeping emissions down to a minimum,
and aiming to take a clean approach to
events, for example. But sustainability
comes with a cost that must be
accounted for. →
Q2 2026
Q3
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
71
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