Mazda Skyactiv Shows Big Gains in Efficiency Through Next-Gen Tech

Mazda's Skyactiv technology will see its first implementation on road cars in Europe later this year on the compact CX-5 crossover. Mazda claims major increases in fuel efficiency and improvements to cutting emissions from both gasoline and diesel engines.

Skyactiv is really a host of technologies used in tandem by Mazda to achieve better efficiency. Through a combination of new engines, chassis tuning, light weight materials, aerodynamic improvements and new transmissions, Mazda claims that its Skyactiv-G petrol engine delivers 15% better fuel efficiency and torque. Its Skyactiv-D diesel engine sees a 20% improvement in fuel economy and is considered the world's lowest compression diesel engine. Mazda is also introducing two new six-speed transmissions, an automatic and a manual, that it claims also help improve economy. Finally, Mazda's chassis engineers have been able to increase rigidity to improve safety and also cut 100kg from the chassis's weight.

“The technology delivers a winning combination of cost-effective motoring and excellent environmental performance with no compromise in driving dynamics. This will enable our cars to reach the top quartile of our competitor set in terms of residual values and further extend our European fleet customer base”, said Christian Blank, Director of European Fleet Operations at Mazda.

The CX-5 will be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.