TOKYO — Mazda is introducing its MX-30 compact crossover in Japan as a mild hybrid first, not as the full-electric vehicle it unveiled last year at the Tokyo auto show.
Mazda also said a version of the new nameplate will be the first to get a revived rotary engine, when the company introduces it as a range-extender in 2022.
The MX-30, which went on sale Thursday in Japan, will initially get an e-Skyactiv G engine mated to a 5.1-kilowatt assist-motor and 24-volt lithium ion battery.
In Europe, where deliveries of the MX-30 started in September, the vehicle is offered only in all-electric form. That vehicle gets a 104-kilowatt motor and 355-volt battery.
Mazda said it will introduce a full-electric MX-30 to Japan next year, but under a lease program.
The Japanese carmaker said it is still weighing introduction plans of the mild-hybrid version outside Japan. Mazda is still uncommitted to a U.S. launch of either version of the MX-30, noted for its barrellike body, rounded edges, slitlike grille and doors that swing opposite each other.
Mazda said the mild hybrid's motor-assist system gives the engine a boost from a full stop, facilitates controlled braking and provides smooth power when the vehicle accelerates.
The mild-hybrid introduction comes before the revival of Mazda’s trademark rotary engine. This year, Mazda noted a small Wankel engine was used as a range extender in a prototype Mazda 2 EV.
"A similar system could find its way onto the Mazda MX-30," Mazda said in an April statement.
At the MX-30’s Japan launch, Marumoto said the world would have to wait a little longer.
“As part of multi-electrification technologies, the rotary engine will be employed in Mazda’s small-segment products and be introduced into the market in the first half of 2022,” he said.
In Japan, the hybrid MX-30 starts at 2,420,000 yen ($22,900) and runs up to 3,393,500 yen ($32,100), including tax. It is available in both two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive layouts.
Mazda expects to sell only about 12,000 units a year in Japan.
