It’s not just Toyota and Honda that are providing a green car push from Japan – Mazda too is forging ahead as a leader in the sector and plans to exhibit its latest eco-friendly technologies at the Eco Products 2008 Exhibition in Tokyo.
The company will display numerous technologies including its highly anticipated hydrogen rotary engine and i-stop, its independently developed engine start-stop system that is scheduled to be launched in 2009. It is all part of the company’s efforts to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles sold globally by 30 per cent by 2015.
Here is an outline of the manufacturer’s main exhibits:
- - I-stop: An intelligent engine stop-start system that improves fuel economy by approximately 10 per cent. It controls the positions of the pistons during engine shutdown and uses direct injection technology to perform a combustion restart.
- - Materials technology: In an effort to reduce environmental impact, various green technologies will be displayed including proprietary bumper recycling technology that removes 99.9 per cent of paint from used bumpers.
- - Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid: An exciting new vehicle with a unique hybrid system that combines a hydrogen rotary engine with an electric motor. It extends the hydrogen driving range to 200km and is scheduled to begin commercial leasing in the 2008 fiscal year.
- - RX-8 Hydrogen RE: The world’s first commercially available hydrogen rotary engine, which has been selling under lease in Japan since 2006.
- - Weight reduction technologies: Numerous weight-reduction techniques including a new plastic moulding technology.
The exhibition takes place at the Tokyo International Centre from December 11-13.
