The next Mazda MX-5 Miata might be an electric vehicle

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Mazda)

The fifth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata may well be a battery-electric vehicle. Motortrend reports that the Japanese automaker, builder of one of the Internet's most beloved vehicles, has decided the next version will be electrified, although it's still deciding to what extent. Mazda is on the way to electrifying its entire product range by 2030, but the next MX-5 is due sooner than that and should be in showrooms in 2025.

Since 1989, the MX-5 has reminded drivers worldwide that you don't need masses of power and torque to enjoy driving. Across four generations of cars, the recipe has remained constant: two seats, with an engine in the front driving the wheels at the back—preferably via a manual gearbox. Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.

As the former owner of a first-gen (aka NA) Miata, I am always amazed upon driving a new one (currently the ND or fourth-gen) to find that Mazda's engineers have kept the ride and handling so similar. Wheels and brakes have gotten larger, and the gearbox has added an extra forward ratio, but the only unfamiliar bit to someone from 20 or 30 years ago would be the infotainment screen, which now brings the welcome addition of CarPlay.