Mazda's green drive yet to bloom-bloom

Mazda Australia is being tight-lipped on when and how the brand's green model direction will take on the market, but says vehicle developments are already saving Aussie buyers.

At the recent launch of the updated RX-8 model (more here) Mazda's local outfit had nothing further to add to word from headquarters in Japan last month announcing plans the company would 'green up' its powertrain and vehicle development between now and 2015.

In the announcement, Mazda pledged to reduce its fuel consumption (and theoretically its greenhouse gas emissions) by 30 per cent.

According to the carmaker, improvements will come via reduced vehicle mass and new, more fuel-efficient, petrol and diesel powertrains -- including new rotaries. It will further reduce its emissions via new paint processes and the use of carbon-neutral bioplastics, it claims.

Mazda's statement said it will renew almost its entire powertrain lineup by 2015 (more here).

For the time being, however, Mazda Australia's managing director, Doug Dickson, said at the launch that his company's local average fuel economy had already "improved 30 per cent over the last several years".

"And we're committed to improving by a further 30 per cent over the next seven years," says Dickson. "We'll do that through a combination of highly economical, new-generation powertrains, and intense focus on lightweight technology and aerodynamics.

"Obviously we can't say too much. Our roadmap to this goal is still quite secret, but it will be our competitive advantage," he said.

The "more tangible" benefits to the customer are via improvements in vehicle weight among its current products, says Dickson.

"We've already established a track record for lightweight evolution. With Mazda2 we proved we can reduce weight in even our lightest cars.

"We'll do all we can to lessen the burden of fuel prices on consumers and to do our bit for the environment. We shouldn't read into this that we don't have products down the track [but] hybrid technology is still in its infancy and obviously there are some important questions yet to be answered," reasoned Dickson.

"We believe there are still significant fuel economy gains to be made by refining conventional petrol and diesel engine technology, and these gains can be made in parallel with increases in power and torque," he said.

These engines will be launched locally over the next five years, according to Dickson.

As noted above, the Mazda boss' quotes came during an interview conducted by the Carsales Network at the launch of the updated RX-8 sports coupe. Ironically, in contrast to Mazda's stated environmental aims, the latest version of the rotary four-seater is actually less fuel efficient, slower and heavier.

Consumption of the RX-8 is now rated at 12.9L/100km (compared to 12.6L) while the 0-100km sprint now takes 6.4sec rather than 6.2sec.

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