The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mazda

  • Mazda to launch innovative diesel engine

    By Our Reporter

    Mazda will launch an innovative diesel engine next year to broaden its approach to reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

    While many carmakers, such as Volvo, have said they will not develop new diesel engines, instead favouring investment in electrification, Mazda will continue to improve its diesel and petrol engines alongside other powertrains such as electric and plug-in hybrids.

    Diesel cars popularity has taken a major hit in recent years, following the Dieselgate scandal. For the year to date, diesel car sales are down 20 per cent in the United Kingdom.

    Mazda’s Europe R&D boss Christian Schultze, said: “We are sticking to diesel engines. In 2020, we have a new approach to diesel engines. We will show you how clean and very efficient diesel engines can be.”

    Asked if it would use similar technology to Mazda’s recently-launched spark-plug-controlled compression ignition Skyactive-X petrol engine, he said: “We will surprise you next year,” adding: “There are not so many differences between petrol and diesel.”

    The Skyactiv-X engine relies on two technologies – lean-burn combustion and compression ignition – to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while delivering good performance.

    Schultze said Mazda will consider other powertrain options as and when they become viable.

    “If we come into an age where sustainable fuels are economically similar, why not use them? We hope governments wake up and see that electrification is one way but there are others, too. Skyactiv-X is a step in the right direction,” he said.

    Mazda has what it calls a “multi-solution approach” to sustainability. Along with petrol engines and its next-generation diesel, it will offer electric, plug-in hybrid, series-hybrid and range-extender vehicles.

    Mazda’s first EV will be unveiled next week at the Tokyo Motor Show. The stand-alone model will be a small Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and will be targeted at urban use, given that it will have a range of less than 150 miles.

  • Mazda to launch new-generation SUV

    Mazda Motor Corporation  will launch the production of fully remodelled next-generation Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at a domestic plant.

    Mazda President Akira Marumoto unveiled the plan in his New Year greeting message.

    Details of the SUV model and the timing of its release will be announced at a later date.

    In 2019, Mazda plans to release a series of new-generation models that adopt its new “Kodo” Soul of Motion design concept and innovative technologies such as a gasoline engine with fuel efficiency enhanced by 20-30 percent.

    As part of the initiative, the automaker is set to release the new Mazda3 sedan in North America this spring Speech

  • Mazda, Toyota plan $1.6 billion in joint facility

    Toyota Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor Corporation had announced Alabama in United States as the site of their new joint-venture manufacturing plant.

    The new plant will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, with production split evenly between two lines for each company to produce Mazda’s crossover model that will be newly introduced to the North American market and the Toyota Corolla.

    The joint venture represents a $1.6 billion investment that Mazda and Toyota plan to make with equal funding contributions. The site for the new plant is in Huntsville, located approximately 14 miles from Toyota’s Alabama plant (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc.). The facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. Production is expected to begin by 2021.

    The State of Alabama is the fifth largest producer of cars and light trucks nationally with a strong automotive manufacturing presence including Toyota’s engine plant in Huntsville, where Toyota employs 1,400 team members. There are approximately 57,000 automotive manufacturing jobs in Alabama.

    In the coming months, after obtaining approvals and authorisation by antitrust agencies, the new joint venture will be established, and site preparations will begin with the start of production in 2021.

    Mazda Motor Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Masamichi Kogai said: “Mazda makes cars with a clear vision of how we want to inspire people, contribute to society and help preserve the beauty of the earth. By making such cars here in Alabama, we hope that over time our plant will come to occupy a special place in the hearts of our employees and the local community. By making this plant a vibrant part of that community, we hope to work, learn and grow together with the people of Alabama and Huntsville.”

    Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said: “When Toyota and Mazda announced our intention to build a new plant in the US last summer, I said that two things brought the companies together: the love of cars, and the love of home towns. While cars get our hearts pumping, hometowns make the success of our endeavours.

    “We are proud of where we come from, of course, but as we expanded our business globally, every place where we operate has become our hometown.”

  • Toyota partners Mazda, Denso for electric car venture

    Toyota partners Mazda, Denso for electric car venture

    Toyota Motor Corporation will partner Mazda Motor Corporation and auto parts supplier Denso Corporation to form a joint venture for developing electric vehicles, as Japan’s biggest automaker plays catch up in the expanding race for battery driven cars.

    The new company, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co., will cooperate on the developing the architecture and components of electric cars for use in a wide range of segments, from mini-vehicles and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to light trucks, the companies said on Thursday.

    The deal will create a toolbox of components that both Toyota and Mazda can dip into when making their own electric vehicles. The deal builds on a fledgling alliance between the country’s largest automaker and one of its smallest that was cemented in August.

    The companies announced a capital tie up then, saying they would work together in a variety of fields, including electric cars.

    Toyota Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi said then that sharing technology would give Mazda and Toyota extra volume and drive down costs.

    Terashi was tipped to head the new venture as president.

    The companies said increasingly stringent emissions regulations were forcing carmakers worldwide to develop electric vehicles. But the high cost of electric cars, driven partly by their expensive batteries, makes it necessary for erstwhile rivals to pool resources. The new venture, they said, will be open to participation from other automaker and suppliers going forward.

    “The huge investments and time required to cover all markets and vehicle segments is a pressing issue for individual automakers,” the companies said. “New regulations that mandate a certain proportion of electric vehicle sales are beginning to emerge,” he said.

    The industry’s frenzy for EVs was on full display around this month’s Frankfurt auto show. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen were among the makes rolling out ambitious plans to unleash waves of EVs over the coming years. Jaguar Land Rover weighed in with plans for full electric and hybrid cars from 2020, and Honda unveiled its next EV.

    The new Toyota Company will pull select engineers from all three companies and have about 40 employees. It will be based in Toyota’s high-rise office building in downtown Nagoya.

    Toyota will wield disproportional influence. It will hold a 90 percent stake in EV C.A. Spirit, while Mazda and Denso each take 5 percent. The two directors under Terashi also come from Toyota. They are Kiyotaka Ise, head of Toyota’s advanced r&d and engineering, and Toshiyuki Mizushima, president of the carmaker’s powertrain sub-company.

    Toyota long remained skeptical about EVs in favour of the hybrid technology pioneered by its flagship Prius, as well as the potential for hydrogen fuel cells. But the automaker finally joined the EV race late last year when President Akio Toyoda put himself in charge of a new EV Business Planning Department.

    It was envisioned as a flat, fast-moving organisation to mimic the nimble corporate culture of the Silicon Valley startups. At its helm were just four people, including Toyoda and counterparts from Toyota Group suppliers Aisin Seiki Co., Denso and Toyota Industries Corp.

    That EV planning department will remain, while the new JV incorporate elements of its work and feeds new EV technology back into it.

  • Mazda to unveil CX-5 SUV at LA Motor Show

    Mazda has announced that the all-new CX-5 SUV will be revealed at the Los Angeles Motor Show. It’ll share the stand with the forthcoming Mazda MX-5 RF with its clever folding hardtop roof.

    Mazda said the new car will be better looking and feature a host of extra technology over the outgoing model. The company describes the new model as a “formidable combination of sophistication and strength”.

    “What we can tell from the image is that up front, the new CX-5 will have slim-line headlight clusters and a very upright front grille. The way the image is lit also shows off some dramatic curves in the body panels down the sides, while a chrome line that runs around the underside of the window line is also visible.

    “A sloping roofline merges into a subtle roof spoiler, while the tailgate slopes gently backwards towards the rear light clusters, which wrap around the rear bumper into a crease that runs down the side of the car. At each corner, there are what look like six-spoke alloy wheels, which are likely to be at least 18 inches in diameter,” the firm said.

    As yet, there are no official details on which engines are likely to feature in the new CX5, although auto lovers be surprised if the 148 and 172bhp 2.2-litre diesel engines weren’t available. Mazda will also be showing off a new version of its 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine at the LA show, so it’s possible it could replace the 163bhp petrol that’s available in the current CX-5.

    It’s also likely that the new car will be available with the choice of two or four-wheel drive and with either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox.

    Prices are likely to start at around £24,000 when the new car goes on sale in the United Kingdom next summer, with first deliveries expected in the autumn.

  • Mazda recalls 190,000 SUVs over loss of steering

    Mazda is calling back more than 190,000 Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to replace potentially defective parts.

    The carmaker plans to recall 190,102 model year 2007 to 2012 Mazda CX-7 vehicles after finding they may contain an issue that causes a loss of steering control.

    According to a notice posted with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, water may enter the vehicles’ front suspension ball joint fittings.

    If the water entering the vehicle joint contains salt — such as from driving over snowy, treated roads — the ball joint may corrode and separate from the lower control arm, resulting in a loss of steering control.

    Mazda said it will notify owners and dealers for replace of both the front lower control arms when parts are available.

    As a priority, Mazda will first address all affected 2007-2008 vehicles as well as 2009-2011 vehicles currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia. West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

    All remaining vehicle will be recalled when parts are available.

  • Mazda MX-5 wins Car of the Year award

    In a close battle, Mazda’s MX-5 held onto its narrow lead to beat the fast-finishing Honda S660 mini-sports car to win the Car of the Year Japan award.

    Mazda MX-5 chief engineer Nobuhiro Yamamoto leads his designers, engineers and media team in celebrating the roadster’s victory.

    At an award ceremony held at the Tokyo International Exchange Centre in Tokyo Bay, the MX-5 sports car tallied 442 votes, beating the Honda S660 mini-coupe by 41 votes when the last of the 60 jurors’ votes were read out. The BMW 2-Series, which came third, totalled 177 votes to pick up the Import Car of the Year gong.

    This win gives the Hiroshima based carmaker back-to-back car of the year trophies after it captured the major prize last year for the Mazda 2.

    In accepting the award, Mazda’s Vice President in charge of Product Planning and Head of the company’s SkyActiv technology R&D, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, said: “We went through some tough times during the financial crisis and 2011 earthquake, but we stuck to our founding principles and created a winning formula. We think the jurors’ response to our MX-5 shows that sports cars are making a strong comeback in Japan. This award means a lot to our development team.”

    A quick examination of the results shows just how close the voting progressed until the winner was finally announced. The Mazda MX-5 polled the maximum 10 votes from 25 of the 60 jurors while the Honda S660 picked up 10 votes each from 22 jurors. Each juror is allocated 25 votes, must give 10 votes to their most highly evaluated model and spread their remaining 15 votes among their next best four cars.

    The  Suzuki Alto picked up the Small Mobility award, while the Tesla Model S, entering the award process for the first time in Japan, won the Innovation award. A split in the voting between several sporty models including the MX-5, S660 and Model S saw no model gain the necessary 200 votes to win the Emotional award, so that trophy was not awarded this year.

  • Mazda recalls 923,000 cars over faulty ignition switch

    Mazda Motor Company is recalling 923,672 vehicles in Japan due to possible defective ignition switches, the car maker said on Friday.

    Mazda reported 13 fire incidents as a result of the defect, but the car maker said it is not aware of any injuries or deaths caused by the problem.

    The recall includes 21 models, including Demio, Familia, MPV, Ford Festiva and Ford Laser, the car maker said.

    A spokesperson for the company said that some vehicles abroad would also be recalled over the same issue, but the car maker does not know how many cars would be affected.

  • Mazda goes global with new Mazda3

    Mazda Motor has global plans for the latest model of its best-selling Axela compact, which is sold outside of Japan as the Mazda3.

    The Japanese automaker plans to make the new Mazda3 at all its three main overseas production bases in Mexico, Thailand and China, in addition to Japan.

    Mazda motor will work to boost global Mazda3 sales by some 30 per cent to 500,000 units a year as early as fiscal 2014. Reaching that goal will be key to the firm’s larger objective, which is to increase overall cars sales by 40 per cent to 1.7 million units in the year to March 2016 while reducing domestic production to just half of total output.

    The newest Mazda3 was released last fall with an updated design and a full complement of the automaker’s fuel-saving Skyactiv technologies. It is available in gasoline, diesel and hybrid versions.

    Until recently, the Mazda3 was manufactured only in Japan, at a factory in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. But Mazda began making the car at its new factory in Mexico on January 6, and in February will begin assembly in Thailand at a joint venture factory with Ford Motor. Production has also began in China at Mazda’s plant in Nanjing

    All three overseas bases will start with production of the gasoline-engine version of the Mazda3. The plant in Mexico is also designed to make the smaller Mazda2 (sold in Japan as the Demio), but it will focus on the Mazda3 in order to expand sales in North America.

  • Mazda goes global with new Mazda3

    Mazda Motor has global plans for the latest model of its best-selling Axela compact, which is sold outside of Japan as the Mazda3.

    The Japanese automaker plans to make the new Mazda3 at all its three main overseas production bases in Mexico, Thailand and China, in addition to Japan.

    Mazda motor will work to boost global Mazda3 sales by some 30 per cent to 500,000 units a year as early as fiscal 2014. Reaching that goal will be key to the firm’s larger objective, which is to increase overall cars sales by 40 per cent to 1.7 million units in the year to March 2016 while reducing domestic production to just half of total output.

    The newest Mazda3 was released last fall with an updated design and a full complement of the automaker’s fuel-saving Skyactiv technologies. It is available in gasoline, diesel and hybrid versions.

    Until recently, the Mazda3 was manufactured only in Japan, at a factory in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. But Mazda began making the car at its new factory in Mexico on January 6, and in February will begin assembly in Thailand at a joint venture factory with Ford Motor. Production has also began in China at Mazda’s plant in Nanjing

    All three overseas bases will start with production of the gasoline-engine version of the Mazda3. The plant in Mexico is also designed to make the smaller Mazda2 (sold in Japan as the Demio), but it will focus on the Mazda3 in order to expand sales in North America.