Dubbed Demio EV, the all-electric city car is scheduled to make its debut next October in its home country of Japan. It is still in the development phase and it will not be offered to the general public. Instead, the 100 units that Mazda plans on building will be leased to fleet customers and local governments in western Japan where Mazda's global headquarters are located.
Mounted under the front hood, the Demio EV's electric motor sends 110 lb-ft. of torque to the front wheels. The entire drivetrain was developed in-house by Mazda.
Apart from the drivetrain, the Demio EV is nearly identical to a regular gasoline-powered Demio. The two share the same exterior and interior dimensions.
When it hits the market in Japan the Demio EV will retail for 3,577,000 yens, which converts to approximately $44,900. The data gathered by the pilot program will be used to finetune Mazda's EV technology, which will debut in production form before the end of the decade.
