Mazda Skipping Hybrids, Focusing On Conventional Engines For Now

Speaking at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda President Takashi Yamanouchi said that the Japanese carmaker would for now skip the hybrid vehicle movement - which he said makes up just 2 percent of the world market.

Mr Yamanouchi said that Mazda will focus on the remaining 98 percent - internal combustion-engined vehicles - while working to prepare its EV technology for future market changes.

Thanks to the high cost of batteries and their limited range, Mr Yamanouchi said that electric vehicles are a long way from taking over the market.

"EVs will never replace all forms of transportation. They will be limited to congested areas," Mr Yamanouchi said.

On display at Tokyo were Mazda's new Sky-G petrol engine, Sky-D diesel engine and Sky-Drive automatic transmission.

Mazda says the new Sky-G direct injection petrol engine offers significantly improved fuel economy - 15 percent greater than the carmaker’s current 2.0 litre engine - thanks largely to enhanced thermal efficiency.

The Sky-G features an all-new engine block, designed to reduce mechanical friction and produce an optimal air-fuel mix.

According to Mazda, the Sky-D diesel engine boasts improved fuel economy and output, with low carbon emissions. It features a newly-designed engine block that reduces mechanical friction, matching that of an equivalent petrol engine.

Utilising piezo injectors, a two-stage turbocharger and a host of newly-developed technologies, the Sky-D offers 20 percent greater fuel economy than Mazda’s current 2.2 litre diesel engine.

With the Sky-D engine, Mazda says it has achieved a fuel economy level equivalent to the Mazda2 (6.4 l/100km), in a test vehicle the size of the Mazda6 (8.8 l/100km).

Mazda also claims the new Sky-Drive automatic transmission improves fuel economy by approximately five percent. These gains are achieved thanks to a clean-sheet redesign that reduces mechanical friction, reduces slip via the revised torque converter and clutch, and an optimised lock-up mechanism.

The new technologies will aid Mazda in it's goal of improving fuel efficiency across its entire line-up by 30 percent, compared to 2008 levels.

Mazda also used the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show to show its Kiyora minicar concept, first revealed at the Paris Auto Show last year.

Powered by Mazda’s Sky technology and benefiting from the use of light-weight materials, the Kiyora concept achieves a fuel economy of 3.1 l/100km.