Mazda has been slow to embrace electric cars. Now, it seems that the company is ready to accelerate its EV plans and announced that its first full-electric car would come next year. The EV will join Mazda's unique Sky-activ X engine to battle CO2 Emission and meet tougher EU standards.
Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto recently announced their efforts that should help the Japanese automaker slash its CO2 footprint and avoid paying big fines in Europe. The EU standards had recently become tougher, and Mazda has a lot of catching up to do if they want to reach it. Mazda's 2018 CO2 level was 135.2 grams per kilometer. It would need to be at the 95g/km range by 2021.
Marumoto said that their first strategy is the Skyactiv-X engine, one of the most promising engines of recent years that had come true and was implemented in the 2020 Mazda 3. The Mazda Skyactiv-X engine is the world's first series production gasoline engine that operates with spark-controlled compression ignition (SPCCI).
The 2.0 Skyactiv-X propeller is a gasoline engine capable of operating with compression ignition, that is, very similar to a diesel engine. According to the Mazda people, it promises to combine the qualities of a gasoline engine (performance, ease of use, ability to turn at high speeds) with the low consumption of a diesel engine. This lightweight hybrid system is 24V and stores electrical energy recovered from decelerations.
With 180 HP, 224 NM of torque and a compression ratio of 16.3 / 1, the Skyactiv-X 2.0 engine has achieved an average consumption, under the WLTP protocol, of 5.4 liters / 100 km, which is equivalent to CO2 emissions of 133 gr / km. It is, without any doubt, absolutely brilliant figures that place this engine as one of the great hopes of the industry.
Another strategy of Mazda is to launch their first all-electric vehicle next year. This is a part of their plan to make all of its vehicles, electric-based, including gasoline hybrids, by the early 2030s. There is not much information revealed yet about Mazda's first electric vehicle, but Mazda fans hope for it to be the Mazda 3 or the Miata.
At the moment, Mazda’s lineup does not include all-battery electric vehicles. It does offer a hybrid version of the Mazda3, but it’s only available in Japan. The company has also experimented with a range-extended electric Mazda2, which used a tiny rotary engine to produce electricity. Mazda’s recent partnership with Toyota also means Mazda could be able to develop hybrids and electrics using Toyota’s existing technology quickly.
Finally, Mazda said that they would also introduce plug-in hybrid models from 2021 or 2022.
