The worldwide boss of the company, Hisakazu Imaki, said in Sydney yesterday that Mazda would continue to invest heavily in petrol engines for at least the next seven years, and that it was not working on a plug-in electric car.

The move is out of step with General Motors, Toyota, Nissan and Renault, which are working to get electric cars into showrooms in the next few years. Instead, Mazda plans to reduce the consumption of its petrol-powered cars by 30 per cent by 2015.

Mazda's view is also at odds with Ford, which owns a 37 per cent stake in Mazda and is speeding up development of an electric vehicle. "Yes, it's true we are heading in a different direction [to Ford]," Mr Imaki said, "but we do work together on some things."

Mr Imaki said the rise in petrol prices earlier this year was politically motivated, and not necessarily driven by demand. "Oil won't run out in my lifetime," the 65-year-old told the Herald through his translator. "Soaring petrol prices are not due to demand but financial speculation. America is the country most affected by petroleum prices."

Mazda is working a hydrogen-powered sports car for sale in Japan in limited numbers next year and believes that technology is a better long-term solution. "Plug-in hybrid vehicles are very easy to understand … but none of the manufacturers of electric cars is making only electric cars. They also will have petrol cars."

Meanwhile the head of General Motors' future technology division, Larry Burns, will visit its Australian outpost, Holden, next week to discuss the demands local conditions will have on the company's plug-in electric car, the Volt, due on sale in the United States in 2010 and Australia by 2012.