The Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV revives the legendary rotary engine after 11 years
Japanese automaker, Mazda, is one of the more prolific Japanese brands in history because even though other brands like Nissan had legendary sports cars like the 350Z and the GT-R and Honda has the Type R, while Toyota made waves with its Supra, Mazda had the rotary engine which was sadly retired some 11 years ago, well, now it’s back and enthusiasts couldn’t be happier.
That’s right, on 20 June 2023, Mazda began mass production of the European model of the Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV at its Ujina Plant in Hiroshima City. This is the brand’s first mass-production rotary engine vehicle in 11 years since the legendary (yet also notorious) Mazda RX-8 was discontinued in June 2012.
Moreover, the Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV is a unique plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) model. It has an electric driving range of 85km making it sufficient for a wide range of everyday driving needs with the rotary engine generating additional power to extend the driving distance. What’s even more interesting is that the entire driving range is motor-powered.
Introduced in 2020, the Mazda MX-30 is the brand’s first mass-production battery electric vehicle (BEV), adding both a mild hybrid model and new plug-in hybrid model to its product lineup. The MX-30 also embodies Mazda’s multi-solution approach to achieving carbon neutrality with its unique rotary powered sustainable mobility.
Another step Mazda is taking in order to achieve carbon neutrality includes its dedicated paint line applying multi-tone paint which is a distinctive feature of the MX-30’s design, Mazda has also introduced a spray gun that precisely sprays areas that colors need to be applied separately.
On top of that, the solar power system at Mazda’s Hiroshima Plant, which went operational in July 2021, outputs 1.1 MW and the power generated charges the Mazda MX-30 EV models, which are produced at the plant as well as the newly-mass produced e-SKYACTIV R-EV for shipment, and even supplies electricity used throughout the entire plant.
Lastly, in addition to powering all this, in situations where the driver needs to accelerate suddenly and purposefully depresses the accelerator pedal significantly beyond a certain point (similar to a standard automatic transmission vehicle), the power generation system will activate and generate the energy for the required output in Mazda R-EV models.
We got all this from ACNNewswire and their full article is linked here. Thank you ACNNewswire for the information and images.
