Mazda CX-3 Gets Diesel Engine, But Only In Japan

For two years now, Mazda has teased us with the promise of diesel engines that are both efficient, and worthy of the brand’s “Zoom-zoom” tagline. The Mazda6 diesel was supposed to go on last sale, but difficulties meeting American emissions standards and performance expectations has delayed the engine again and again.

Mazda is having no such issues in Japan though, where it announced that the new CX-3 would be sold solely with a diesel engine, as the automaker continues to pursue better fuel economy. Reuters reports that while just 3% of Japanese car sales are diesels, Mazda expects to build some 150,000 oil-burning CX-3s for worldwide distribution. Europeans can also get a CX-3 with a diesel mill, but Americans are limited to one of two four-cylinder motors that deliver decent enough fuel economy, but likely nowhere near what a Mazda diesel might offer.

The Mazda 6 sedan, for example, offers up to 40 MPG on the highway, while its diesel sibling manages up to 57 MPG. Now I’ll grant you, thats on the more generous (and easier to cheat on) European MPG testing standards, but even if you cut the difference by 50%, the diesel engine should still easily manage 47 MPG highway, or about 20% better than the gas engine. The CX-3 could see an even more drastic improvement.

Then again, this move might be a bad one for Mazda right now, as both the English and French government officials have renounced diesel vehicles in recent months as bad public policy. These countries are instead moving towards plug-in hybrids and EVs, with France offering as much as €10,000 for diesel owners to make the switch to an electric car. But Japan is a car economy all onto itself, from its weird kei cars to an almost zealous devotion to hydrogen fuel cells. Can Mazda convince a world moving away from fossil fuels that diesel crossovers have a place at the table?

Maybe those rumored diesel-electric hybrids would be a better bet…if they ever get there. Mazda’s current track record isn’t exactly faith-inspiring.

Source: Gas2

Japan's Tiny 'Kei' Cars Set For Increasing Electrification

Kei-jidosha, or 'Kei cars' are one of our favorite "forbidden fruits" here at Green Car Reports.

Strict tax, insurance and parking regulations in Japan result in vehicles designed to set dimensions and engine sizes. So specific are they to Japanese roads and market conditions, they're rarely sold outside of Asia.

There's one notable exception, however: Mitsubishi's i, or "i-MiEV" electric car. And some anaylsts predict that several other electric Kei cars are set to join it over the next few years.

While North America's Mitsubishi i has been expanded to better suit market requirements, other markets get the original, kei-based version.

It's no more than 11.2 feet long, 4.9 feet wide or 6.6 feet tall--the maximum limit for Kei minicars and commercial vehicles.

Engines are restricted to 660cc and a maximum output of 63 horsepower, though electric motors are now becoming an option, particulary for vehicles which typically spend most of their time in congested cities.

Research analysts Frost & Sullivan suggest that the Kei car market is set for continued marginal growth over coming years. Over 50 percent of cars on Japanese roads currently conform to Kei-car regulations.

Of those numbers, say researchers, electric vehicles will play an increasing role.

Positive reception to the Mitsubishi i--including the part it played in ferrying relief and assisting infrastructure in devastated areas of Japan following 2011's Tsunami--has encouraged other Japanese carmakers, including Daihatsu and Suzuki, to develop their own electric Kei vehicles.

The Japanese government is offering financial incentives and tax exemptions to promote the use of electric vehicles, in common with many countries. Japan also wants 2 million regular charging stations and 5,000 rapid-charging stations along major routes by 2020.

The country still has several challenges to overcome when it comes to powering the next generation of electric cars--not least discontentment over nuclear energy after the Fukushima disaster--but the nation's roads and traffic conditions are more suited than most to electric power.

Would you want to see any more electric minicars? We're hoping for an electric version of the Honda N-One we recently drove in Japan...

Source: Green Car Reports