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Mazda Targeting Average 30% Cut in Fuel Consumption of All its Cars by 2015
23 June 2008
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| The operating principle of Mazda’s Smart Idle Stop System (SISS). Click to enlarge. |
Mazda Motor Corporation is targeting an average 30% reduction in the fuel consumption of its new vehicles worldwide by 2015. To achieve the reduction, Mazda will apply lightweight technologies, upgrade almost all of its gasoline engines, introduce the Smart Idle Stop System worldwide, and introduce a new gasoline rotary engine and new diesel engines worldwide.
By 2015, Mazda says it will have renewed almost its entire powertrain lineup and, from 2011, aims to reduce the weight of its new vehicles by 100 kilograms or more.
Smart Idle Stop. Mazda plans to introduce the mass production version of its proprietary Smart Idle Stop System (earlier post) into one of its cars in 2009. Mazda’s SISS restarts the engine without using an electric motor. The system injects fuel directly into the cylinders while the engine is stationary and ignites the fuel to create downward piston force that serves to start the engine, enabling a fast and quiet restart as well as an improvement in fuel economy by up to 7-8% percent.
For SISS to work, the compression-stroke piston and expansion-stroke piston must be stopped in positions that create the right balance of air volumes. Consequently, SISS effects precise control over the piston positions during engine shutdown. During automatic restart, the cylinders for combustion are indexed and fired from the stored piston positions at the time of engine shutdown. Even at extremely low rpm, cylinders are continuously selected for ignition, and the engine quickly picks up to idle speed.
The system will initially appear in Japan and Europe; however, Mazda will roll it out worldwide.
Spark ignition engines. In 2009, Mazda will introduce an E85 fuel-compatible flex-fuel engine into the Northern European and North American markets. From 2011 onwards, new gasoline engines will incorporate next-generation Direct Injection Spark Ignition and other systems to boost power by 15-20% percent and improve fuel economy by approximately 20%.
Mazda will substantially upgrade its trademark gasoline rotary engine in the early 2010s. Currently referred to as the 16X, the next rotary engine will offer substantially improved performance and economy through use of Direct Injection Spark Ignition and high-speed combustion technology, enfolded in new rotary dimensions.
Diesel. Beginning in 2011, Mazda plans to introduce new diesel engines worldwide that meet the strictest future exhaust gas regulations in each market. These engines will feature next generation direct injection technology, turbocharging systems and NOx reduction technology, which will enhance fuel economy by 20% and produce cleaner exhaust gases.
Hydrogen. Mazda began its work with hydrogen in 1991. The Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid, due to be available for commercial lease in Japan during the 2008 fiscal year, recently received approval from the Japanese government to begin testing on public roads.
Mazda says it is making good progress on the development of an all-new Hydrogen RE vehicle with performance equivalent to a 3.0-liter gasoline engine and a hydrogen range of 400 kilometers.
Other initiatives. In 2005, Mazda was the first auto manufacturer to introduce a Three Layer Wet Paint System which reduces VOC emissions by 45% and CO2 emissions by 15%. (Earlier post.) Mazda will introduce a more advanced version of this system in 2009 with new water-based paint technology that reduces VOC emissions by a further 57% without increasing CO2 emissions. The new system will producing around 25% fewer CO2 emissions than common water-based paint.
In FY2007, the volume of CO2 emissions from Mazda’s production activities in Japan was reduced by 15.4% compared to FY1990 levels.
Mazda is also collaborating on the development of carbon neutral bioplastics. Bioplastics are used in the new Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid and, in June 2008, Mazda commenced the Mazda Bioplastic Project to develop a bioplastic made from non-food-based cellulosic biomass. The project aims to have the bioplastic ready for use in vehicles by 2013. (Earlier post.)
June 23, 2008 in Engines, Fuel Efficiency, Vehicle Manufacturers, Vehicle Systems | Permalink | Comments (31) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
Interesting motor restart plan.
Posted by: J T | Jun 23, 2008 8:05:55 AM
Do they really mean 30% reduction in fuel comsumption because that would calculate into a 60% increase in MPG.
Posted by: CNCMike | Jun 23, 2008 8:10:12 AM
@ CNCMike
I think you are a Mathamagician.
Posted by: J T | Jun 23, 2008 8:16:44 AM
Good but not enough and too late and I see nothing about hybrid and plug in in their plan nothing about drag reduction. in 2015 we will need 100MPG vehicles, plug-in to be less dependent on oil. We don't need diesel because the price of diesel fuel will be higher than gazoline.
Posted by: Treehugger | Jun 23, 2008 8:22:57 AM
also a reduction of weight of 200pounds is definitively not enough, we need a reduction of 600 pounds
Posted by: Treehugger | Jun 23, 2008 8:24:07 AM
CNCMike,
A 30% reduction in consumption means a 43% increase in MPG. Still impressive.
Posted by: Anne | Jun 23, 2008 8:25:10 AM
Perhaps Ford may sell its hybrid technology to Mazda at a discount, turn the Tributes, CX-7s, and CX-9s into hybrids in 12 months or so...
Posted by: The Scoot | Jun 23, 2008 8:31:44 AM
I'm currently driving a 2005 Mazda 3 with the 2.0l engine and 5spd. Gets me up to 42mpg in Colorado highway driving despite being rated at 28/35 under the old standards. Best vehicle I've ever owned, by far. Set me up with smart idle stop, direct injection, and E85 capability and you can have another $16,000 of my $$.
Posted by: wjm | Jun 23, 2008 9:16:31 AM
This is some sort of cruel, late April Fool's joke, right?
If that headline said 2010, we would really have something. I'll even spot them 2012. But 2015? Something Very Bad will happen before the fall of 2014 at the rate we're going. Either they'll be out of business, or we'll be in bad enough shape that we won't care what Mazda is doing.
Posted by: Jason | Jun 23, 2008 10:12:33 AM
Jason, Well said. Mazda and other car makers will have to speed up their plans for smaller, lot more fuel efficient cars or they deserve to go out of business. I am amazed at their ignorance (especially GM's and Ford) about what is happening with the world oil supplies.
Posted by: Andrew K | Jun 23, 2008 1:18:29 PM
Noted the siss system proposed for their rotry engine,
reminded me of an old story presented as real that model T Ford? vintage could be started this way with kick to bumper bar, supposedly some one caught on that cranking the engine to just the right condition, was repeatable enough that a kick would set the whole thing going. I think it was featured in an early silent movie.
Who would have thought we come full circle.
Posted by: annold | Jun 23, 2008 1:18:33 PM
"they plan nothing about drag reduction."
from what i have seen most current Mazda models are already pretty well streamlined.
the one thing I am surprised about in this announcement is that they are still sticking with Wankel rotary engines, a piston engine of similar displacement will always be more efficient no matter what they do.
Posted by: eric | Jun 23, 2008 1:19:40 PM
The next car I buy will get 100 mpg or better.
If Mazda wants to sell it to me, they had better get off their ass.
Posted by: Lucas | Jun 23, 2008 4:05:19 PM
They need to go PHEV with their rotary engine as
the engine half of their genset.
Posted by: swen | Jun 23, 2008 4:21:01 PM
Interesting that they have the same timeline as Mercedes yet Mercedes are going to phase out petrol and diesel engines by then. Are the Japanese more pragmatic or is Mercedes really going for it?
Diesel fuel has lost a lot of gloss here in Australia as it is now commanding a fairly large premium over petrol. People are weighing up whether it's worth paying the initial premium for a diesel engine when the greater efficiency is being swallowed up by paying 10-15% more per litre for diesel over petrol.
Posted by: critta | Jun 23, 2008 4:53:41 PM
"I see nothing about them improving aero..."
Notice the Nagarae concept. It is very streamlined. I'm not saying that Mazda will go as far as detached and shrouded wheels (though I wish they would) but considering that aero improvements are relatively cheap and have the largest impact on highway fuel economy I think it is safe to say Mazda will pursue them.
Interesting concept about using a Wankel rotary engine as a genset. They have tremendously smooth power delivery and also have amazing specific output. They would also be relatively cheap to produce in volume. Perhaps a single rotor 600cc design with the generator offset to balance the rotor would be adequate.
The one shortcoming I see with using a Wankel is thermal efficiency. Perhaps Mazda's new DI design allows for better fuel stratification.
Posted by: GreenPlease | Jun 23, 2008 6:04:01 PM
I don't understand why mazda hasn't brought the new mazda 2 here in US it will sell like hot cake.
The automaker arae not really taking advantage of drag reduction, Mercedes has demonstarted 4 years ago with the bionic concept that the drag could be brough to 0.19 without internal volume loss, the Ford probe V in the late 70 was about 0.137. The Aptera is about 0.11. The best Drag on the road is the Prius with 0.26 but most cars are beyond 0.3 so quite some margin fro improvment.
Posted by: Treehugger | Jun 23, 2008 7:20:21 PM
lucas you will be waiting a long time.
again it is easy for you all to say "do this now!" but this is done without an understanding of the complexities of engineering an automobile.
between the epa requirements, safety requirements, dot durability requirements, consumer demands, and the huge costs and lead times of a massive r&d undertaking these things do not come overnight.
this should be taken in context - has gm committed to a similiar pledge? has chrysler or ford?
go one further for you - has toyota?
the fact that mazda is taking this initiative should be lauded and not lampooned..
if you all think it is so easy go into mechanical/automotive engineering and make these changes you so easily and lightly suggest here. or even better, start your own car company and see how much capital you generate on your foolish idea to make a 1000mpg, 6sec 0-60, 1000lb car that can survive an impact from a train, runs on optimism and generates only flowers and happiness out the exhaust...
Posted by: marc | Jun 23, 2008 7:28:36 PM
Marc
We are not saying it is easy, an automotive is by far the most complex product that is mass produced. The point is that automakers have missed the problem of fast increasing gaz prices that started 4 years ago (except Toyota with the Prius) they have continued the trend of heavier, bulkier and always more powerful. if you look at Mazda these 2past years they have put only Van and SUV on the market, not a single car. They also ignored alternative vehicle like the Carver or Naro concept that can potentially revolutionize the auto market. I know, consumer choice dictate the market, blablabla. The automakers have to also lsiten the experts and the people who are capable of thinking out of the box, if you only listen the customer you are dead fast because the customer is extremely volatile in a consumer market...
Posted by: Treehugger | Jun 23, 2008 8:53:14 PM
I think you folks are forgetting that with advances in metallurgy and making composite materials in the past 20 years, we could see major drops in the weight of a car without sacrificing safety very soon.
One new material--actually commonly available but up till recently very hard to work with--is titanium alloys. Far stronger than even aluminum alloys on a per weight basis, now that the technology to refine titanium is rapidly dropping in cost we could see within ten years cars that use a lot of titanium in their structural materials, which could cut the weight of the car 30% or more! :-) That type of weight reduction in body structure suddenly makes a BEV much more viable, since you need less power (and battery needs) to get the vehicle accelerating decently fast.
Posted by: Raymond | Jun 24, 2008 4:24:53 AM
Raymond: "we could see within ten years cars that use a lot of titanium in their structural materials, which could cut the weight of the car 30% or more! :-)"
Titanium frame + electric motor -> a vehicle that would last much longer than the current ~10 years it takes to rust and wear out an iron-based ICE.
The cynic in my thinks this is too far outside the box of the business model of current car manufacturers.
Posted by: | Jun 24, 2008 6:11:33 AM
Anne:
I arrived at 42.5% increase in PMG using 20 MPG as current level. Of course, if one was to use the current EU (about 35 MPG) as current level, the final % gain would be different.
Posted by: | Jun 24, 2008 7:36:59 AM
Future BEVs may weight less than one tonne (1000 Kg) when ESSUs with higher performance (500++ Wh/Kg) become common place and new lightweight resistant materials are used.
BEVS could be very simpler machines to build. Much less weight means much less colision damages and less armoured protection required. Batteries placed below the floors will keep the centre of gravity lower and make mauch safer vehicles to drive.
Posted by: HarveyD | Jun 24, 2008 7:50:09 AM
My next vehicle will be a 500mpg, 4WD, 8 passenger SUV. It will be a two-mode hybrid mated to an 8 liter V-12 ICE which runs on hydrogen, and it will cost less than $20,000; otherwise, no sale.
Posted by: Bob Bastard | Jun 24, 2008 10:37:52 AM
Sadly your attitude exemplifies most people's. Then when you are unhappy with higher and higher gas prices, you start blaming everyone except yourself.
Posted by: | Jun 24, 2008 12:34:28 PM
"when ESSUs with higher performance (500++ Wh/Kg) become common place"
higher performance (energy density)?
By the way, ~500Wh/kg is the theoretic (max) energy density for Li-Ion. I think there are two that could achieve more, but both need cooling due to their working temperature.
Posted by: randomdude | Jun 24, 2008 12:46:38 PM
well with Tesla releasing its Roadster now and plans to within a few years release a reasonably-priced family sedan EV (before 2014), I can predict where sales will go. That will put the major auto manufacturers in their place. The shift will be soon ... and it will be harsh for those companies unwilling to prepare. Sooner, rather than later, one company will succeed in producing a reasonably priced BEV on the market and the cork will be off of the bottle.
I don't understand how the auto companies can complain about a lack of market for alternative fuel vehicles. 35% of Canadians think the environment is issue #1. And gas prices keep rising for who knows how long. There is a HUGE market for PHEV's, even for a substantially higher price because of the uncertainty of the future operating costs of fuel.
Can someone direct me to an actual independent study which shows that consumers in 2008 are not willing to spend 30% more on a PHEV or BEV?
Posted by: Mark_BC | Jun 24, 2008 10:43:29 PM
@annold: thanks for the anecdote, you see it's not always easy to invent something really new
@Bob Bastard: well said lol
Posted by: Anne | Jun 25, 2008 3:39:53 AM
It's a good assumption that consumers in 2008 ARE willing to spend 30% more on a PHEV or BEV. In 2008.
Probably not true back when gas was cheap; when Honda quit making the Insight.
Over 4 years are required to bring a new car to market. ...
Posted by: ToppaTom | Jun 25, 2008 6:40:36 AM
30% is too much. When GM was saying the Volt would be around 30K a large mass said, I can swing 30. But when GM switched and said not 30K but 40K. 80% said, I just can't do 40.
Posted by: Joseph | Jun 25, 2008 8:02:49 AM
For single passenger commuters, I do like that
Carver, or even better, the VentureOne hybrid.
How about this (ready for the Bronx cheers):
In the city, BEGK (Battery Electric Go-Karts) or
BEGC (Battery Electric [40mph] Golf Carts)?
Park your cars at the outside of the City Center
in stacked parking structures & pick up your
BEGK or BEGC there. Luggage? Some NEVs have plenty
of luggage space on a flat-bed.
Posted by: swen | Jul 7, 2008 11:38:05 AM
