As this year’s Paris Motor Show edges closer, another automaker has announced the introduction of several upgraded models at the event.
This time it is the turn of Mazda which will put the emphasis on lowering fuel consumption with its three developments. The lightweight Mazda2 has received an upgrade and will be given its European premier at the event with an upgraded Euro V compliant powertrain line-up; while an automatic transmission version will also be introduced.
Also being introduced is the all-new Mazda5, which will show off a new, more economical MZ-CD 1.6 diesel engine that reduces fuel consumption to 45mpg and slashes emissions by 15 per cent compared to the previous 2.0litre diesel model. It is also set to include a new lightweight six-speed manual transmission.
Finally, Mazda will introduce the new Mazda3 that will include an upgraded MZ-CD 1.6 diesel engine that offers more power and torque as well as lowering fuel consumption to 53.5mpg.
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Japanese car buyers are reaping the rewards of government subsidies for environmentally friendly cars.
The subsidies, which are due to expire at the end of September, helped sales of new vehicles in the country climb by 12.9 per cent during July to 486,606 units.
The Toyota Motor Corporation saw its sales shoot up by 19.1 per cent during the month thanks in large to the Prius Hybrid; while Honda enjoyed a 13.3 per cent jump partly based on the popularity of the Fit sub-compact and the Step WGN mini-van. Meanwhile, the Demio sub-compact helped boost Mazda’s sales volume by 25.3 per cent.
According to the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, automakers are now stepping up their marketing activity to urge customers still driving old vehicles to buy new ones before the subsidies expire.
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Mazda are heading to the “Le Mans vers le future” event with their Mazda coupe RX-8 Hydrogen RE, which can run on petrol or hydrogen.
The “Le Mans into the Future” event is a first for the race, and will present several vehicles using alternative powertrains including electric, hybrid, natural gas and hydrogen fuel.
The Mazda coupe RX-8 Hydrogen RE is fitted with a dual-fuel (petrol/hydrogen) rotary engine that is especially efficient at burning zero-emissions hydrogen. It is currently available for lease in Japan and Norway.
The demonstration of the car is scheduled for Saturday, 12 June, at 12h10. Starting at 12h30 the cars will be exhibited to the public in Paddock H, opposite the Village.
The RX-8 was the first hydrogen car leased to customers back in 2006.
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The New York International Auto Show saw Mazda showcase a series of new engine and transmission concepts that improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
Known as the SKY Concept engines and transmissions, they will be rolled out from 2011. The SKY-Drive six-speed automatic transmission offers a driving feel comparable to a dual clutch while improving fuel economy by five per cent. Meanwhile fuel economy improves by 15 per cent on the SKY-G (petrol) compared to current petrol engines; and 20 per cent on the SKY-D (diesel) engines, compared to today’s 2.2litre diesel. Torque is also improved.
The products benefit from weight reductions, improved aerodynamic design and the fuel-saving start-stop system known as i-stop. This will help as the company aims to meet Mazda’s global 2015 fuel economy improvement goal of 30 per cent and its objective to slash CO2 emissions by 23 per cent compared to 2008 levels.
Making the announcement, Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda’s president and CEO, stated that the SKY-D engine will launch in the US in 2012 and revealed that Mazda’s next generation mid-sized diesel car will achieve fuel economy of 43mpg – placing it ahead of today’s mid-sized hybrids. The engine will later be rolled out to global markets along with the SKY-G.
The plans to introduce the fuel economy conscious engines come shortly after Mazda reached an agreement with Toyota on the supply of the hybrid system technology used in the Toyota Prius. Mazda will combine the hybrid system with the SKY-G direct injection petrol engine to develop and manufacture a hybrid vehicle in Japan.
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The rumours are true; Mazda is to introduce a hybrid model using Toyota Prius technology.
Yesterday contradicting reports speculated on whether the Japanese car giant was to agree to licence its hybrid technology to its fellow Japanese brand (see our story). This morning the world’s largest carmaker announced that it has indeed agreed to let its smaller counterpart utilise its Prius technology.
Mazda intends to combine this hybrid system technology with its SKY1 engines, currently under development. The firm aims to develop and manufacture a hybrid vehicle in Japan and commence sales of a hybrid vehicle starting in its home country by 2013.
Toyota Motor Corporation has also announced that as part of its strategy to popularise eco-friendly vehicles, that it will consider licensing its hybrid system to other companies too, thus potentially leading other carmakers to make similar agreements with the car giant.
Based on its long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom, Mazda aims to increase the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles sold globally by 30 percent by 2015, compared to its 2008 level. Under this strategy, Mazda will enhance the core aspects of its vehicles — including engines, transmissions and weight reduction — and then progressively add electric devices such as idling stop, regenerative braking and hybrid systems.
The Prius was the world’s first mass-production hybrid vehicle, introduced way back in 1997. Since then, over 2.3 million Toyota-built hybrid vehicles have been delivered to customers in over 70 countries and regions.
Through this partnership, each company intends to offer technologies and products with ‘outstanding environmental benefits’ to as many people as possible, the firms said in a joint statement.
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There have been contrasting reports that the Mazda Motor Corporation will introduce a mid-size hybrid vehicle based on core components supplied by Toyota.
According to reports in the Nikkei, the vehicle could be introduced as early as 2013 after the two manufacturers reached a final agreement for Toyota to supply the Hybrid System II, which comprises a high capacity battery along with an electric motor, a power control unit and a generator. The system, which is ideal for use with an engine of two litres or less, is currently employed in the Toyota Prius.
The report continues that the hybrid systems for Mazda will be supplied by the Toyota group parts manufacturers at a rate of tens of thousands of units a year with Mazda to combine the components with a petrol engine and create a hybrid version of one of its existing midsize passenger cars. It also suggests that the agreement comes after negotiations began last year and that Mazda will be the first company outside the Toyota group to receive such large scale supplies of core components.
However, Bloomberg reports that Toyota is denying the Nikkei reports and quotes Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco as stating that “nothing has been decided”.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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