Mazda has joined the electrification bandwagon, even as it continues to work on improving efficiency of its combustion engines.

But surprisingly, its MX-30 battery-powered crossover has a range of only 200km. Most new electric models boast a range of 400km.

Ms Tomiko Takeuchi, chief programme manager of the MX-30, says increasing the range means increasing the battery capacity, which increases weight.

With the average daily mileage of most city dwellers at less than 60km, having a bigger battery means lugging around unnecessary weight.

The MX-30's battery capacity is 35.5kWh, compared with 64kWh for the long-range Hyundai Kona Electric.

A bigger battery consumes more resources and incurs a larger carbon footprint during production, adds Ms Takeuchi, 45.

She asserts that charging a larger battery also produces more CO2 than charging a smaller one.

Lastly, lithium-ion batteries are costly. So, a car with a bigger battery would cost substantially more.

The MX-30 is expected to cost €33,000 (S$55,100) when it hits European markets next month.

Its estimated price and arrival in Singapore is $113,000 (before the certificate of entitlement) and as early as the first half of next year. That would make it the least expensive electric car of its size.

Like all new electric models, the MX-30 will have sound generators - a safety requirement in Europe. Through these, drivers can hear the car's reactions to their inputs, adding an emotional element to the drive.

Ms Takeuchi says the MX-30 was conceived and developed in-house. Mazda did not ask Toyota for help, despite both companies having signed a Joint Technology Development contract for electric vehicles (EVs).

Going it alone, Ms Takeuchi says the pressure was palpable. "We have to succeed. Everyone's expectations are so high and it is my duty to execute this properly," she says.

Asked why it took Mazda so long to electrify, she says the company sees electrification as only one way to reduce CO2. The other way is to make more efficient combustion engines, which Mazda has been doing.

The MX-30 will have a hybrid variant which uses a petrol-driven rotary engine as a generator to charge the batteries, but not drive the wheels.

This variant works like Nissan's e-Power hybrids.

Ms Takeuchi would not say how many more EVs Mazda will have in the next five years, but states that all its models will be electrified - either fully or partially - by 2030.

• The writer is editor of Torque, a motoring bi-monthly published by SPH Magazines.