Mazda Delayed Its In-House EV Platform To 2029, So It's Still Driving Around This SUV Test Mule

Well before an automaker starts testing an upcoming model using its production body panels and styling covered up by camouflage, its engineers will hit the road in test mules, vehicles that are cobbled together using chopped-up bodies and other spare parts. These mules are usually for testing new platforms and powertrains, where the styling doesn't matter at all but the performance really does, which results in some truly goofy-looking vehicles.

That's the case with the Mazda SUV that our spies have spied undergoing on-road testing in Europe. This exact test mule (or at least one identical to it) was caught in the U.S. about a year ago, and nothing has visually changed since then, but what's underneath the body is a really big deal: Mazda is testing its first scalable EV architecture that has been engineered in-house. This platform should underpin a midsize SUV that's been designed for the U.S., but if the most recent reports are true, the launch of the architecture has been delayed by a couple years to 2029 — that's probably why the company is still driving this same mule around.

Mazda seemingly used the body of a CX-90 for this mule, but a lot of modifications give away what's going on underneath. You can see that the front wheel is pushed back, with the original wheel arch positioning still visible, giving this mule a very funny front overhang. The rear end has also been chopped, looking more like a stubby CX-5 than the three-row CX-90. Mazda is clearly testing a shorter wheelbase, and this SUV's track is a lot narrower, too. 

The totally closed-off grille and bumper intakes, aerodynamic wheels and lack of exhaust tips give away that we're looking at an EV prototype, as do the yellow stickers that denote this as an electrified vehicle for first responders. Otherwise, there's not much to say. I hope the new models will wear a design language more like that of the EZ-6 sedan and EZ-60 SUV that are sold in Europe and Asia, and not the boring CX-5 that launched earlier this year.

Speaking of the EZ-6 and EZ-60, which are called 6e and CX-6e in most markets, those models are the spawn of a joint venture with Chinese automaker Changan. They use a platform and powertrains developed by Changan (including the optional range-extender setup), and their designs and interiors are clearly oriented toward the Chinese market. Thus why Mazda is working on its own dedicated EV platform being tested by this test mule, the Skyactiv EV Scalable Architecture.

Mazda first announced this Skyactiv platform in 2021, a ground-up development that was part of a $12 billion investment in electrification. Initially the first model riding on it was going to enter production in Japan in 2027 (with the batteries being made there, too), but earlier this year the automaker announced it was delaying its new EVs to 2029 and slashing its investment by half. Oof. According to Automotive News, CEO Masahiro Moro said the decision was because of "looser fuel economy standards, U.S. tariffs, cutbacks in global EV incentives and waffling demand." At least this project hasn't been canceled outright, and hopefully the longer testing regimen means it'll be really good.