Mazda is still on believing that the good old ICE is the way to a better future.
According to CARBUZZ, most manufacturers are reportedly gearing up for an onslaught of hybrid and fully-electric models over the next few years. Despite this, Mazda still swims against the electric tide because they believe that the internal combustion engine will remain the powertrain of choice when looking at CO2 emissions as a whole.
The managing executive officer of powertrain development of Mazda was named Ichiro Hirose. He was certainly on hand at the LA Auto Show to speak to Australian publication CarAdvice regarding the plans of the company moving forward. At the moment, we do not know what is in store for future powertrains yet.
"Each region and market has different methods of electricity generation. So we have to look at how the electricity is generated in each region. In some regions, it might be clean, so EVs are a good fit. But in other regions, due to power and electricity generation methods, ICE engines may have more advantage in terms of emissions. When we think about the goal of CO2 reductions, I think there are still more regions that ICE is a better fit, so I think for the time being we should still focus on ICE," says Ichiru.
Moreover, the theory actually has some merit because most developing countries can still find purpose in polluting coal power plants for the electricity generation. In the end, to focus on a technology that was obviously phased out may put Mazda behind in the future.
Ichiro Hirose is anything but phased out as he felt like gasoline engines are made up to 30 percent more efficient. Aside from this, he also has no plans to get rid of diesel either. They are planning to move towards the larger and heavier SUVs and with this, he felt the CO2 reduction in that application is useful through a modern diesel engine.
Furthermore, he was having plans for the rotary engine too as well. But this may serve as a range extender rather than powering a new RX-style sports car that many people have been hoping for. Mazda is clearly not following the crowd and the commitment to the ICE may only mean we have a few more years left to enjoy cars like the little Mazda MX-5.
