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With fuel economy standards in the U.S. set to reach 35 mpg by 2016, Mazda may be interested in bringing diesel engines to the U.S. market.
Mazda already offers several diesel-powered vehicles in Europe, including a Mazda3 hatchback diesel that West Coast Editor Jason Cammisa drove a while back (and averaged 36 mpg in). None of these engines are sold in the U.S., but a corporate executive told Automotive News yesterday that may change.
Seita Kanai, Mazda’s head of research and development confirmed that Mazda has diesel test vehicles running around in the U.S. He also said that Mazda needs a sales volume of at least 10,000 diesel vehicles annually to make a case for selling the cars over here.
“As an engineer, ideally I would want to introduce diesels, but I am not sure if it makes a business case,” said Kanai. He did not specify exactly which diesels are being tested.
One issue for Mazda with bringing diesels to the U.S. is the current transmission offering. None of Mazda’s existing diesel vehicles has an automatic transmission, which is seen as a necessary option for any vehicle sold in the U.S.
Source: Automotive News
yes! give hybrids a run for the money
Umm…yes please! As a current Mazda owner and diesel enthusiast, I would definitely consider buying one! The Euro-market 2.2L is 182 horsepower and 295 lb./ft. What’s not to like? However, to do well in the U.S., it HAS to have an automatic option. That’s probably the roadblock.