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WAVE 2015: Metron 7 sets new record of 513 miles on one charge

Sometimes you just gotta push harder, faster, longer. Last fall, the Metron Institute team from Slovenia took their converted all-electric Mazda5 minivan on an impressive 457-mile journey from Bled (in Sloveniva) to Dubrovnik (in Croatia) without stopping to recharge at an average speed of 40 miles an hour. Today, as part of the WAVE Trophy 2015, the Metron 7 EV just finished up a drive of 826.1 kilometers (513.3 miles) on a single charge. The drive started in Berlin and ended in Karlsruhe, Germany. As you might suspect, a drive of this length on normal roads required a big battery pack. The total pack capacity was 108 kWh, thanks to the combination of the built-in 86-kWh pack that uses lithium polymer cells from Kokam and a 130-pound, 22-kWh external pack that Metron has developed that can charge the built-in pack while driving. The average speed of the 500-mile journey was 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) through rural countryside, towns, and some time on the highway. The drivers –Andrej and Jasna Pecjak – did not use air conditioning, but the fans were running. The weather was temperate enough that AC wasn't needed anyway these last two days. The Metron 7 was a part of the last two WAVE events and has been updated since the last record was set in October 2014. On the new record journey, the minivan was loaded up with gear, but the Metron engineers made improvements to the car in the last eight months: the side mirrors are smaller and they fitted a better aerodynamic cover underneath the vehicle, for example. Andrej said that the cost for the batteries was around $50,000, since some of the cells he got were used. Today's record is unofficial, but AutoblogGreen witnessed both the sealing of the charge port in Berlin and was in the car for the last 125 kilometers today. Featured Gallery WAVE 2015: Metron 7 EV Distance Record Green Mazda AutoblogGreen Exclusive Fuel Efficiency Green Culture Electric mazda mazda5 mazda5

Mazda on sales upswing in Europe but won't build there

Auto sales in Europe have been a tricky proposition for some years, but Mazda has seen some success on the backs of the CX-5 and new Mazda6. According to a report form Automotive News Europe, though, that doesn't mean we should be looking for the Japanese manufacturer to set up production operations there.
Mazda's European CEO, Jeff Guyton, explained to AN that "Our intention is to have manufacturing scale. That gives you scale economy and quality through repeatability." In other words, a big honking plant in one part of the world is preferable to a half dozen small factories building the same vehicles.
European sales for Mazda are up 5.4 percent in the first half of 2013, with 74,000 units sold. That kicked the Zoom-Zoom brand's market share up from one to 1.2 percent. Small gains, but gains nonetheless. According to Guyton, Mazda would need to sell 200,000 units of just one model in Europe for local production to make sense. Mazda's best European year saw 320,000 units sold across the entire range.

Mazda recalling 18k Mazda6 and RX-8 models over airbag inflators

Faulty Takata airbag inflators keep taking their toll on automakers. Mazda is the latest to be affected in the US by announcing a recall covering 18,050 Mazda6 and RX-8 models to replace the front, passenger-side airbags. Specifically, the campaign covers 18,000 Mazda6 units from the 2003 and 2004 model years built between May 29, 2002, and March 4, 2004, and 50 RX-8 vehicles from the 2004 model year made between June 25, 2003, and June 30, 2003.
As with the rest of the vehicles with these faulty inflators, it's possible for the part to rupture when deploying the airbag and potentially spray shrapnel at the occupant. Mazda's defect notice goes into a bit more detail than most about the problem saying: "some propellant wafers have been produced with an inadequate compaction force, or may have been exposed to uncontrolled moisture conditions (those wafers could have absorbed moisture beyond the allowable limits)."
This isn't Mazda's first difficulty with Takata-supplied airbags this year. The company was among the seven automakers that recalled vehicles in hot-weather states over the inflators. It also had to recently fix 42,000 Mazda6 vehicles in China over the issue.