Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automotive News Europe
  • Automotive News Mexico
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • login
  • HOME
  • NEWS BY BRAND
    • Aston Martin
    • BMW
    • Daimler
    • Fiat Chrysler
    • Ford
    • General Motors
    • Honda
    • Hyundai
    • Mazda
    • Mitsubishi
    • Nissan
    • Subaru
    • Tata
    • Tesla
    • Toyota
    • Volkswagen
    • Volvo
    • Mini
    • Rolls Royce
    • Mercedes Benz
    • Smart
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Chrysler
    • Dodge
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Jeep
    • Lancia
    • Maserati
    • Ram
    • Lincoln
    • Buick
    • Cadillac
    • Chevrolet
    • GMC
    • Acura
    • Kia
    • Infiniti
    • Jaguar
    • Land Rover
    • Lexus
    • Audi
    • Bentley
    • Bugatti
    • Lamborghini
    • Porsche
  • News
    • Auto Shows
    • Photo Galleries
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • Retail
    • Government Relations
    • Trade and Tariffs
    • Technology
    • Labour
    • Lawsuit challenges Trump's authority on steel, auto tariffs
      Automaker-supplier relationships take a hit
      Ghosn's ace for growth: Suppliers
      In-demand tech puts wary suppliers on guard, study finds
    • Ontario aims to replace GM with Magna, Martinrea or other in Oshawa
      FCA to idle Ontario minivan plant due to parts shortage
      Supplier Brose cutting 100 jobs in Ontario, report says
      Magna's Walker: Pair up to keep cars affordable
    • AutoCanada sues former CEO Patrick Priestner for $250M over dealership acquisitions
      Rolls-Royce names BMW exec its new sales VP for Americas
      How GM's Oshawa closure could affect sales, dealerships
      Commission sales seem to benefit few people, Ontario dealer association says
    • Level 3 autonomous vehicles now allowed on Ontario roads
      Ford adds 149,652 vehicles in Canada to Takata airbag recall
      Honda wants recall notices to be part of registration renewals
      All wet: Rain could delay the arrival of self-driving future
    • How Canada's auto industry can take advantage of new trade deals
      Canada says it will stay out of U.S. ratification fight over new NAFTA
      Trump uses state of the union speech to urge Congress to approve USMCA
      Metal tariffs will sour U.S. Congress on USMCA, lawmaker says
    • Vehicle screens go super-sized at CES as tech catches up
      All in a day's work
      Ford commits US$4 billion to autonomous vehicles, forms new subsidiary
      Massive data breach at Canadian company hits several automakers, report says
    • GM Canada says it will find 2,400 jobs for Oshawa workers
      FCA to idle Ontario minivan plant for 8 days, union says
      Unifor calls for boycott of GM vehicles if automaker closes Oshawa plant
      Unifor's Jerry Dias, Magna's Don Walker named Automotive News All Stars
    • Toronto Auto Show
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Chevy's 2019 Blazer: More Camaro, less Equinox
      Trump's troubling definition of victory
      The 2019 Nautilus: Lincoln's Cadillac Super Cruise fighter?
      What Cadillac dealers can expect from Steve Carlisle
  • EVENTS, WEBINARS & AWARDS
    • 2018 Auto News Canada All Stars
    • Best Dealership To Work For
    • Canada Congress
    • Webinars
    • More women in dealerships is just plain good for business
    • Ontario aims to replace GM with Magna, Martinrea or other in Oshawa
      Dealers told standalone stores 'difficult to remain profitable'
      Ford's Joe Hinrichs: Plant closures have 'cascading effects' on industry
      Online shopping will never replace touch, feel of showroom, top execs say
  • +MORE
    • NEWSLETTERS
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CLASSIFIEDS
    • CONTACT US
    • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Cars & Concepts
October 02, 2018 01:00 AM

Mazda to revive rotary engine in push to electrify entire lineup

Hans Greimel
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    TOKYO — Mazda Motor Corp. says it will revive its famed rotary engine to power a range-extender hybrid vehicle as part of a wider plan to electrify its entire lineup by 2030.

    The plan, announced Tuesday, signals a diversification away from the Japanese carmaker's dependence on traditional internal combustion engines as it reacts to increasingly stringent fuel economy rules. Mazda said it will deploy some form of electrification in all vehicles by 2030.

    By that year, pure electric vehicles and range extenders will account for five per cent of Mazda's lineup, with the balance being combustion engines paired with some form of electrification.

    "We've seen drastic changes in automotive-related environmental policies all over the world," CEO Akira Marumoto said at a news conference here outlining the plan. "We at Mazda are keeping an eye on what is going on in the industry as we move forward with our strategy."

    As part of the push, Mazda will develop one pure electric vehicle and another range-extender hybrid. The range extender will drive like a normal battery-powered electric vehicle but have a compact rotary engine to recharge the battery and give the car a longer cruising range.

    Mazda says its rotary engine is well suited to the task because it is compact, powerful and quiet. For an extra touch of green, it can also burn liquefied petroleum gas, Mazda said.

    INCREMENTAL-INPROMVEMENT STRATEGY

    Mazda has dutifully stuck to incremental improvements in the internal combustion engine as the cornerstone of its powertrain strategy, even as rivals rapidly switch to EVs and hybrids.

    The Hiroshima-based automaker is promising a major breakthrough in gasoline engine technology next year when it introduces its Skyactiv-X engine. That powerplant, Mazda says, will feature a variant of compression ignition for more power and better fuel economy.

    But Mazda is also beefing up its electrification footprint in several ways, including the upcoming pure electric and range extender. Last year, it also partnered with Toyota Motor Corp., auto parts supplier Denso Corp. and other Japanese automakers in an EV joint venture.

    Through that new company, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co., Mazda and its partners will cooperate in developing the architecture and components of electric cars for use in a wide range of segments, from minivehicles to light trucks.

    Mazda says it plans to bring a mild hybrid mated to market in 2019 followed by an EV in 2020. A plug-in hybrid is slated for around 2021. By 2030, Mazda says 5 percent of its lineup will be "battery EVs," which it says includes pure electrics and range extenders.

    The EV arriving in 2020 will be a vehicle developed in-house by Mazda. The EV technologies developed through the EV joint venture with Toyota and other partners will be available for commercialization after 2020 and will be worked into other vehicles, Mazda said.

    Executives had long hinted that the rotary might be resurrected as a range extender.

    Akira Kyomen, Mazda's program manager for vehicle development, said last year that the EV will come in two forms, one a pure electric, the other the range extender.

    The pure electric would target markets such as Japan, Europe and China, where an EV can get by with a shorter range. But a range extender is seen as necessary for North America and other markets where daily drives are much longer, Kyomen said at the time.

    SIGNATURE ENGINE

    The rotary engine had been a Mazda bragging point since the company became the first to market the technology in 1967 in its Cosmo Sport/Mazda S110. Mazda's prowess with rotary engines was crucial to its 787B race car, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1991, the only victory for a Japanese brand or a car with a rotary engine.

    Mazda retired the rotary engine with the RX-8 in 2012 amid slumping sales.

    But in 2013, it revived the technology in prototype form as a gasoline-powered 0.33-litre range extender in a Mazda2 hatchback reconfigured to run on an electric motor. That vehicle's name: RE Range Extender, short for Rotary Engine Range Extender.

    Marumoto said the company still hopes to eventually develop another rotary engine that can function as the vehicle's main powerplant as it did in the RX-8.

    But he did not offer specifics about a timeline or the likelihood. "That is the dream of Mazda," he said. "So, my role is to make Mazda prosper so we can release such a model."

    As part of Tuesday's announcement, Mazda also said it would develop connectivity technologies that "offer an enriching experience of the joy of life."

    Under a new product and technology offensive that kicks off next year, Mazda plan to introduce an updated generation of its Mazda Connect onboard information technology service.

    Mazda said it will also leverage its alliance with Toyota in this area.

    Recommended for You
    Digital Edition
    Thumbnail
    View latest issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up today for our Weekly Newsletter, Daily Newsletter and Breaking News Alerts. We'll deliver the news you need to know straight to your inbox.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Subscribe Today

    An Automotive News Canada subscription includes 12 monthly issues – delivered in print to your doorstep, and digitally to your inbox – plus unlimited, 24/7 access to our website.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Our Mission

    The Automotive News Canada mission is to be the primary source of industry news, data and understanding for the industry's decision-makers interested in Canada.

    Contact Us

    PO Box 243
    Station A
    Windsor, ON
    N9A 6K7

    1-877-812-1257

    Email Us

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Digital Edition Archive
    • Advertise with Us
    • Reprints
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • NEWS BY BRAND
      • Aston Martin
      • BMW
        • Mini
        • Rolls Royce
      • Daimler
        • Mercedes Benz
        • Smart
      • Fiat Chrysler
        • Alfa Romeo
        • Chrysler
        • Dodge
        • Ferrari
        • Fiat
        • Jeep
        • Lancia
        • Maserati
        • Ram
      • Ford
        • Lincoln
      • General Motors
        • Buick
        • Cadillac
        • Chevrolet
        • GMC
      • Honda
        • Acura
      • Hyundai
        • Kia
      • Mazda
      • Mitsubishi
      • Nissan
        • Infiniti
      • Subaru
      • Tata
        • Jaguar
        • Land Rover
      • Tesla
      • Toyota
        • Lexus
      • Volkswagen
        • Audi
        • Bentley
        • Bugatti
        • Lamborghini
        • Porsche
      • Volvo
    • News
      • Auto Shows
        • Toronto Auto Show
      • Photo Galleries
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • Retail
      • Government Relations
      • Trade and Tariffs
      • Technology
      • Labour
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
    • EVENTS, WEBINARS & AWARDS
      • 2018 Auto News Canada All Stars
      • Best Dealership To Work For
      • Canada Congress
      • Webinars
    • +MORE
      • NEWSLETTERS
      • SUBSCRIBE
      • CLASSIFIEDS
      • CONTACT US
      • DIGITAL EDITION