Mazda details electrification strategy, confirms rotary engine's return

In an announcement from Japan in October, Mazda-one of the few established automakers to articulate a comprehensive longterm commitment to hybridization or all-electric vehicle propulsion-said it intends to incorporate some type of electrification in all its vehicles by 2030. Yet in nearly the same virtual breath, the company affirmed its connection to “soulful” forms of internal combustion, including a confirmation that it will renew its longstanding enthusiasm for the rotary engine.

In a carefully-worded statement, Mazda reminded that many credible forecasts call for internal combustion to remain the dominant light-vehicle propulsion source for perhaps decades to come, while discretely laying out its plan for electrification-when and where it makes sense for the environment.