I know you’re probably asking what the heck Mazda is thinking about at this point. The company just installed a new 3.3-liter inline-six diesel engine in the top-of-the-line CX-60 SUV.
Madness? Or does the Japanese automaker, which is known for frequently going against the grain, have insider knowledge that the other automakers around the world don’t? While governments and environmentalists seem hellbent on pushing every driver into the new world of electrification, be it full battery power or plug-in hybrid, purchasers in Japan are still far more EV-skeptical. This is certainly the case in Europe and the UK.
Perhaps they are more perceptive when they wonder how exactly millions of Japanese drivers would recharge their vehicles. Where will the energy come from? And how much more environmentally friendly is an EV’s overall world life than a conventional electric combustion engine?
We could easily have a lengthy discussion on each of those points, but that is not the topic of this post. But I will add that Mazda has always approached the worldwide “emissions problem” differently, choosing to concentrate on those whole-life figures and adopt a unique global decarbonization strategy.
That basically means that while other car manufacturers are rolling out endless new all-electric cars, Mazda is continuing with piston engines. Hallelujah! And while several companies, such as Renault and Jeep, for example, have removed diesel entirely from their car line-ups, Mazda is not only continuing to fly the diesel flag, but has hoisted it even higher up the flagpole.
Why? Look at Mazda’s product renewal programme. It’s based around a new family of larger, longways-engined SUVs. The UK received the CX-60 in hybrid form last year. Later this year we, plus the rest of Europe, will get the seven-seat CX-80. Mazda also the CX-70 and CX-90 siblings in other global markets.
And the key point? All these markets still have an appetite for combustion engines. That means new, big petrol and diesel engines, in addition to hybrid and plug-in hybrid options.
