New eco Mazda3 not for Australia
But never say never, says local spokesmanA new, more economical Mazda3 has just gone on sale in Europe but don't expect it in local showrooms any time soon.
Mazda Australia says it has no current plans to introduce technology that promises to deliver a 14 per cent saving in fuel consumption on its new Mazda3.
This is despite the fact that, in Australia, the Mazda3 is thirstier than its two main rivals, the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30, according to figures published by the Federal Government's Green Vehicle Guide.
The European Mazda3 i-stop is powered by a 2.0-litre direct injection four-cylinder petrol engine that has stop-start technology. That is, the engine automatically shuts off when the car comes to a stop and automatically starts again once the brake pedal is released.
But Mazda Australia says there are no plans to introduce this model as the Mazda3 is already selling extremely well. It was Australia's biggest selling car in January and is the third biggest seller year-to-date behind the Holden Commodore and Toyota HiLux -- and ahead of the Toyota Corolla.
"The engine and transmission combination of the car in Europe is not one we take here," says Mazda Australia's National Marketing Manager, Alastair Doak.
"The big question is whether or not customers will pay the premium for the car. The i-stop system adds quite a bit of cost."
Doak said Australian driving conditions were different to those in Japan and Europe, where the the i-stop system would be more beneficial.
"In Europe and Japan, stopping and starting in traffic is a part of daily life and you'd probably get the benefit," he said. "But really outside of Melbourne and Sydney in peak hour, you'd have to consider the benefit."
However, he did not rule out the technology arriving at a later date.
"It's not on the horizon for at least the next two years or so but if petrol spiked to $2 a litre then it's obviously something we could look at, because then there would be a significant cost benefit to the customer."
He said Mazda had not imported a car with i-stop for local evaluation but planned to look at it when executives attend the next study tour in Japan.
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