Anyone with an eye for exciting new vehicles need look no further than Japan, where the Mazda Motor Corporation has now begun selling a new version of its Mazda Atenza (known internationally as the Mazda6).

The vehicle is available in both saloon and sport wagon body types and includes a 2.0litre engine which has been updated with the company’s direct injection MZR 2.0l DISI petrol engine.

The engine in the Mazda provides fuel economy that surpasses Japan’s 2010 fuel economy standard plus 15 per cent; and all grades qualify for the eco-car incentive programme while being subject to 50 per cent less tax under the government’s eco-car tax reduction programme.

The Atenza range will include front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive grades and will qualify as super ultra low emission vehicles thanks to exhaust emissions that are at least 75 per cent lower than the Japanese Government’s 2005 exhaust emissions standard. Each version will also come with single-nanocatalyst technology that provides exacting exhaust purification performance and reduces the amount of precious metals needed by more than 70 per cent.

The dust has barely settled on the Detroit Motor Show, but attentions are already turning to the next major motoring event – the Geneva Motor Show which opens its doors to the Press on March 2.

The Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it will unveil its all-new Mazda5 (known in Japan as the Mazda Premacy) at the event.

The vehicle is available with powertrains including a 1.8litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. However, of particular note is a 2.0l direct injection petrol engine with i-stop that reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by around 15 per cent when compared to the model it replaces. It also boasts high combustion efficiency provided by direct injection and a six-speed manual transmission with optimised gear ratios.

Meanwhile, it is expected that Mazda will display its next generation Mazda SKY-D diesel engine and SKY-DRIVE automatic transmission at the event. The features are likely to be introduced in its 2011 models.

Not to be outdone by its Japanese rivals, Mazda will lead the way in a new project aimed at testing a low carbon transport system that uses clean energy.

The company will provide three Mazda Demios (Mazda2s) for conversion to electric vehicles as part of the project in collaboration with Itochu Corporation and other companies in conjunction with Tsukuba City for the Tsukuba Environmental Style Test Project that is scheduled to begin in March, 2010. The aim of the project is to assess a low carbon energy network composed of electric vehicles, fixed battery stations, solar panels, a car sharing service and rapid chargers.

Mazda has adopted a policy aimed at improving its internal combustion engines and then combine them with electric devices. This includes the i-stop idling stop system, regenerative braking and hybrid systems. Now it aims to strengthen the base of future research and development activities.

Its main initiatives will include testing the viability of reusing electric vehicle batteries in fixed battery stations; testing a model to optimally use renewable energy in electric vehicles; and testing the viability of a new electric vehicle car sharing system to accelerate a low-carbon transport society. 

The additional organisations that will play a role in the project include the Itochu Corporation as the project leader; Family Mart, which will provide sites at convenience stores; Itochu Enex, which will provide sites at service stations; Kyuki which will provide rapid charges; Think and Tokyo R&D, which will both provide electric vehicles; and EnerDel Inc US, which will supply vehicle batteries and fixed batteries.

Also contributing will be Seiko Electric for fixed battery system integration; Itochu Techno-Solutions for ICT technology and a data centre; Windcar Car with a sharing service; Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation and Nippon Car Solutions both for car sharing; and Ecosystem Japan with solar panel systems.

The sluggish economy worldwide has few bright spots, but Japan can take some consolation with the news that its economic troubles have at least led to some environmental positives.

An analysis by the Nikkei revealed that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from four Japanese steelmakers had slumped by 11.1 per cent in the last fiscal year from fiscal 1990 – while those from five major car markers were 39 per cent lower.

According to the report, major blast furnace steelmakers showed sharply reduced greenhouse gas emissions in 2008, offering a timely boost to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s pledge to slash emissions in the country by 25 per cent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels. However, the reduction is almost certainly down to the recession, suggesting that there is still no easy solution to reducing emissions while maintaining economic growth.

The same can be said for the reductions reported from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Fuji Heavy Industries as domestic output shrank by 17 per cent in the last fiscal year.

In separate news, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation also reported that the country’s crude steel output dropped by 29.6 per cent year on year to 43.3million tones in the April-September term – that’s the lowest total for any half-year period for 40 years.

So intent is vehicle manufacturer Mazda on keeping pace with the green car race that it intends to raise $1.1billion through a share offering with $670million to be used for research and development of more efficient and safer vehicles.

The research and development costs at Mazda are expected to cost the company $3.3billion over the next three years ending in March, 2012 – this includes investment for environment and safety-related developments including a series of next-generation products. The products are expected to be based on improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine as well as investment into the development of electric technologies including hybrid vehicles.

The remainder of the money raised will be poured into a capital investment plan which amounts to $1.7billion to March, 2012. This is put towards production capacity and a research and development facility which aims to bring about an early introduction of next generation products.

The door may barely have closed on the Frankfurt Motor Show, but it would appear that manufacturers have already set their sights on the next major date in the motoring calendar – the Tokyo Motor Show, which runs from October 24-November 4.

At the event, Mazda, which has just announced that it has achieved its best ever sales month in the UK in September, will showcase the world premier of its next generation engine line-up and automatic transmissions. It will also take the opportunity to give a debut to the Kiyora concept car.

Let’s take a look at each of the debutants:

-         The direct injection Mazda Sky-G petrol engine: With a newly designed engine block that is meant to reduce mechanical friction and achieve an optimal air-fuel mix, the Mazda Sky-G significantly improves fuel economy and output performance with enhanced thermal efficiency. Specifically, fuel economy and torque are boosted by approximately 15 per cent compared to Mazda’s current 2.0 litre engine.

-         Advanced diesel Mazda Sky-D engine: By optimising the pressure and temperature in the cylinders, as well as the fuel injection rate, the Sky-D engine begins combustion at the best timing in terms of thermal efficiency. It employs piezo injectors, a two-stage turbocharger and other technologies to offer fuel economy improvements of approximately 20 per cent compared to the current 2.2litre diesel engine.

-         Mazda Sky-Drive automatic transmission: Highly efficient and contributing to substantially improved fuel economy, the next generation Mazda Sky-Drive has enjoyed a complete redesign that significantly cuts mechanical friction. Fuel economy is improved by around five per cent.

-         Mazda Kiyora Concept: The Kiyora uses the Sky-G 1.3 engine and the six-speed Mazda Sky-Drive automatic transmission. It is aided by the i-stop idling stop system, regenerative braking and advanced aerodynamics to help it achieve fuel economy of 32km/litre under Japan’s 10-15 mode test cycle – that’s the equivalent of 75mpg US.

Carmakers reduced carbon emissions by wildly varying degrees last year with the best performers achieving four to five times larger cuts than the worst.

New figures published by European NGO, Transport & Environment (T&E) show BMW and Mazda led the field with 10 per cent and 8.2 per cent reductions to the average CO2 emissions for cars sold in Europe in 2008. But nine of the fourteen volume producers in the ranking achieved just 4 per cent or lower.

A new European law setting binding targets for average CO2 emissions was agreed at the end of last year. According to the report, the striking differences in performance by different carmakers reflect the amount of work each has to do to reach their new EU targets.

Progress slowed dramatically at Fiat and Peugeot-Citroën (PSA), who have Europe’s cleanest fleets on average and are close to meeting their EU targets. Conversely Suzuki and Mazda, who have been slow to improve efficiency in the past, and consequently have a long way to go to meet EU targets, made big steps forward in 2008.

Jos Dings, director of Transport & Environment said: “The new EU law is already having an impact. If the overall drop in average CO2 emissions was purely related to the financial crisis, fuel prices or changing consumer behaviour, we would have expected to see every company reducing much more equally. But what is actually happening is that carmakers are seeing how far they have to cut and changing their fleets accordingly.”

The positive impact of the cars legislation adds to the evidence that legally-binding targets should be extended to vans and lorries.

Dings said : “Clearly regulation is working, and if it works for cars, it will work for vans where progress so far has been even worse. Fuel efficient vans will be good for the environment, and save billions on fuel costs for the many businesses, small and large that depend on them.”

According to media reports, the EU is set to announce legally-binding targets for vans in the coming weeks.

A 2.0-litre petrol engine with 148bhp in a small hatch should make for a decently swift driving experience. However, the Mazda is curiously devoid of interest, even though this –stop model now comes with a six-speed manual where previously this engine has only been available with an automatic gearbox. This improves acceleration to 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds and top speed to 128mph. The engine itself revs keenly, if a little noisily, and the gearbox slides from one gear to the next easily. The i-stop element comes into play when the car is at a standstill. With the gearbox in neutral and the clutch pedal raised, the engine switches off to save fuel. Mazda says its system allows the engine to restart in half the time of any competitor stop-start system and it certainly works quickly.

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The 2.0-litre Sport version of the Mazda 3 is the car we’d least likely recommend in this particular range. The addition of i-stop to this model should help, but the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is not enough to help out here, even if we prefer the six-speed manual to the auto ’box. At 159g/km for the 2.0 Sport i-stop, buyers conscious of emissions will still find more financial comfort in the diesel-powered models from the 3 range that come in under the 120g/km mark. There’s also the combined economy of 41.5mpg that is reasonable for a petrol but still way off what we’d like to see from a stop-start model. Mazda reckons the 2.0 Sport i-stop will appeal to company buyers, but with a list price of £18,025 there are too many other appealing options out there to warrant more than a cursory glance at this Mazda. If you do spend this amount on the 2.0 Sport i-stop, you’ll be luck to see back more than 40% of your spend when you sell in three years’ and 36,000 miles’ time.

Read the full Mazda 3 2.0 Sport i-stop road test

RoadTestReports.co.uk provides road tests reports written by members of the Guild of Motoring Writers. These reports are complemented by car reviews submitted by the members of the public who drive the vehicles day in day out.

Toyota, Honda and Nissan may be leading the green car revolution, but that didn’t stop vehicle production in their native Japan slumping by 31.9 per cent year on year in July.

It marked the 10^th straight monthly decline as production fell to 742,284 units according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).

According to its figures, passenger car production fell by 31 per cent to 643,585 units and of these auto cars, output of standard models with a displacement greater than 2,000cc dropped by 37.5 per cent. Small car output dropped at a slower rate, by 21.1 per cent to 195,472 units. Truck output meanwhile, decreased by 37.1 per cent to 90,912 units.

Sales in Japan have continued to fall – dropping by 5.2 per cent year on year although passenger car sales were only down 2.8 per cent. However, in a bigger blow to the Japanese manufacturers, auto exports dropped by 45.1 per cent to 339,652 units – also the 10^th straight decline.

Of the leading manufacturers, Toyota saw its exports drop by 60.7 per cent; Nissan suffered a 50 per cent drop; Mazda an 80 per cent decline; Subaru an 81.8 per cent fall; and Honda a 35.4 per cent drop.

Another day passes and more news reaches us here at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk about a planned debut at the 63^rd Frankfurt Motor Show.

This time it is the turn of the Mazda Motor Corporation, which will exhibit freshened versions of the CX-7 at the event including a version powered by the company’s MZR-CD 2.2 litre diesel engine mated to a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system.

These systems allow for substantial reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions which will help the diesel to meet Euro 5 emission regulations. The 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine produces low volumes of nitrogen oxides which allows the SCR system to do less in post processing. The SCR sprays AdBlue aqueous urea into the exhaust flow in front of the catalytic converter, helping to convert around 40 per cent of the nitrogen oxides into nitrogen.

The vehicle also benefits from reduced size and weight of the system components, with an AdBlue storage tank fitted under the luggage area. Despite this the CX-7 offers the same 455 litres of luggage space as the petrol models. The system has also been designed to minimise consumption of AdBlue and enables the CX-7 to run for 12,427 miles between refills under normal driving conditions.

The Frankfurt Motor Show will be held from 15-27 September with the diesel CX-7 to make its debut in Europe in October 2009, with Australian sales following in November.