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Mazda6 diesel engine delayed over low performance, still coming

Oh Mazda... we had many hopes for the promised diesel four-cylinder in the Mazda6, but those have remained largely unfulfilled, as the oil-burning powerplant has failed to appear on dealer lots following its 2012 LA Auto Show announcement. Despite engineering issues that forced the company to announce that the program was delayed back in September 2013, Mazda remains adamant that the 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D is still coming to our shores. "We're still very much committed to diesel," Mazda's North American CEO, Jim O'Sullivan, told Automotive News. "We are still working on getting the performance aspects up to where we want them, and we do have a plan – an engineering road map – to get it done." According to AN, Mazda's initial plan with the 2.2-liter diesel was to build an engine so clean it could get by without an aftertreatment system, which generally accounts for the price premium of diesel engines versus their gas counterparts. The new system has come with performance issues, though, necessitating the delays. "If [we were] a commodity brand and didn't care about that, it would be on the market right now," O'Sullivan told AN. "But I know the people were expecting something from us, expecting certain drive characteristics and performance, and I didn't want to disappoint them." While O'Sullivan's defense of the diesel Mazda is admirable, the exec stops short of giving us an indication of when the new engine will finally arrive.

Mazda engineers say current Skyactiv-X might not suit U.S. market

We've been watching Mazda roll out the 2.0-liter four-cylinder Skyactiv-X engine in Japan and Europe, waiting our turn. When European authorities released fuel economy information for the high-tech motor last June, we wrote, "Mazda has yet to make an official decision on timing for the U.S market's launch of the engine." Automotive News spoke to Mazda engineers in charge of the powertrain, and based on the answers AN got, the question might not be when we get the Skyactiv-X, but if. Seems that the automaker now isn't certain whether the cost/benefit analysis for the U.S. market favors the engine, and there's concern the 2.0-liter might not be powerful enough for us with its current output of 178 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque. At the moment, our Mazda3 is served only with a 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G engine producing 186 hp and 186 lb-ft., not too far ahead of the Skyactiv-X. The Skyactiv-X would return better fuel economy, but requires a noteworthy price premium over the Skyactiv-G. The Truth About Cars says the Skyactiv-X has become the top-seller in the Japanese-market Mazda3, even though it costs 27% more than the base, 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G for a 9% improvement in fuel economy. Mazda's not sure U.S. customers would care much for that kind of math. Engineer Yoshiaki Yamane told AN, "Maybe U.S. customers require more power, because fuel economy is not the top requirement." There isn't much Mazda can do about the tech-heavy engine's cost, since pricey equipment like the high-pressure fuel injection and combustion systems, supercharger, three-way catalyst, and 24-volt mild-hybrid system provide the mileage gains that are the engine's reason for being. Instead, engineers are researching the system's effects with larger displacements. If it works as desired, a larger and more powerful Skyactiv-X could come to the U.S. on the large-vehicle architecture Mazda's developing for new sedans to arrive in a couple of years. That's the hope, at least. Remember, Mazda's Skyactiv-D was meant to go into the 2014 Mazda6, but didn't because Mazda said it needed more time to find "the right balance between fuel economy and Mazda-appropriate driving performance." After five years of "Soon," the engine showed up on the 2019 CX-5 that starts at $42,045. Based on that template, it could be awhile before we know how the U.S.-market Skyactiv-X story ends. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Mazda's first-quarter profit slumps on weak sales in U.S. and China

TOKYO — Mazda reported a 79% drop in quarterly operating profit, falling significantly short of estimates, as it continues to struggle with declining U.S. and Chinese sales, while a strengthening yen also cut into its bottom line. Operating profit at JapanÂ’s No.5 automaker was 7.0 billion yen ($64 million) in the first quarter ended June, versus around 33 billion yen a year ago and less than half of an average forecast for 18.5 billion yen from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Mazda, however, reiterated its forecast for a 33% rise in operating profit to 110 billion yen in the year ending March. ThursdayÂ’s profit announcement marks MazdaÂ’s poorest first-quarter operating performance since the June 2012 quarter. The automaker has been struggling with falling demand for its cars over the past year or so, while it is also recovering from flood-related damage to its factories in Japan that led to a quarterly loss in the July quarter of 2018. The Nikkei business daily on Wednesday had reported that operating profit at the company would fall around 70% for the quarter due to lower sales in the United States. Mazda posted global sales of 353,000 units for the quarter, down 12% from a year ago. Its sales in the United States, its biggest market, fell 15% to 68,000 units, while in China, Mazda sold 54,000 vehicles, down 21% on the year. A trade war between the top two economies and slowing growth in China, the worldÂ’s biggest auto market, have prompted a broad-based sales downturn in the global auto sector. Automakers are grappling with easing demand for cars just as they must invest heavily in new technologies including electric cars, autonomous driving technologies and ride-sharing services to survive a major industry shift away from car ownership. Many of MazdaÂ’s rivals at home and abroad have been reporting disappointing quarterly results, with Nissan and Ford also announcing job cuts and possible plant closures earlier this month. The United States is a key source of revenue for Mazda, but it imports all its vehicles sold there, exposing it to a threatened hike in U.S. tariffs on imported cars from Japan. To limit its vulnerability to possible tariffs and currency fluctuations, Mazda is investing in a new plant in the U.S. state of Alabama, a joint project with Toyota.