Most automative companies have been focusing all their efforts into creating the best electric vehicles and optimizing these batteries to ensure that the cars perform just as well as traditional gas engine cars, believing that that is where the future lies and that that is the barrier of entry for most consumers. Meanwhile, Mazda is taking a very different approach and is working on a brand-new four-cylinder engine, which they just announced in one of their financial reports.
Considering the issues with scaling back electric vehicle technology that many companies have had to implement, Mazda’s approach may actually be the sensible one, do what they do best and try to optimize their internal combustion engines even more to give them an upgrade and help the environment without compromising their reputation for dependable, affordable cars that run forever.
The new Mazda engine and how it could revolutionize the industry
The new four-cylinder gasoline engine that Mazda has developed has been called the Skyactiv-Z and it has been designed to be cleaner and more efficient than the current Skyactiv-G and Skyactiv-X engines, both of which have already made waves for how they balance performance with fuel economy. Despite what it may seem because of the naming convention, this new engine is not just a resh take on the previous iterations that they have released, it is a full-on replacement that will eventually power a wide range of Mazda’s vehicles.
It might seem like this is a waste of resources and time, after all the world seems to be moving towards electric vehicles and new hydrogen engines that contaminate a lot less, but the problem is that these new vehicles are not living up to the hype. Consumers are finding that these new electric vehicles come with a unique set of headaches. There is not enough charging infrastructure, especially in more remote areas where range is key, batteries need to be replaced and cost almost as much as the whole vehicle, when they are in a crash and catch on fire it is almost impossible to put out….
All those drawbacks are forcing car manufacturers to reconsider their approach to the next ten years, and some of them have already taken a significant hit in their profit margins which will only be compounded by the fines some governments like the EU will levy against them for excess contaminants.
This is where Mazda’s approach may come in handy, as, after all, their new engine will be cleaner and more efficient, but still make sense considering the infrastructure we have today.
This new engine might even revolutionize the entire Mazda lineup and not just new production cars. They have hinted to the fact that the tech and lessons from the Skyactiv-Z will be used in their larger six-cylinder engines as well, meaning that all their gas-powered vehicles could be a lot more efficient and cleaner soon enough. Plus, considering that they are on a tech partnership with Toyota and Subaru that is focused on rotary engines, this new tech could influence more than one company despite being a solo effort from the company.
While the Skyactiv-Z is an exciting new reveal, it is not quite ready yet to be installed in vehicles. It is slated to make its road debut in 2027, so the general public will still have to wait and see how it performs in real life conditions, although being a Mazda engine we expect great things. Having said that, technology is growing every day and changing so rapidly that by the time we see it installed in our vehicles, it could be an entirely different iteration of the engine that has been announced.