Mazda fired up about internal combustion

There is room in the market for hybrids and all-electric vehicles, but Mazda believes the internal-combustion engine offers the biggest bang for the buck.

In an interview with AEI and in media presentations, Mazda cast light on its “today-and-tomorrow” powertrain and vehicle strategy. Though the view is not fully illuminating, key technologies and concepts can be observed.

“Tomorrow” for the company that derives its name from the Japanese god of light is the 2011-2015 time frame, at the end of which the Hiroshima-based manufacturer ambitiously expects to have improved global fleet fuel economy by 30%. Mazda points out that it has achieved the same percentage improvement in fleet fuel economy in vehicles sold in Japan during the 2001-2008 period.