Mazda gives more details about its upcoming Skyactiv-Z engine
Mazda is going all-in the next few years with its electrification efforts. Aside from introducing a dedicated company for its electric vehicles, reviving its beloved rotary engine, and developing it further, it will be introducing a new internal combustion technology that will be the center of these efforts for the next few years, the Skyactiv-Z engine.
Aside from the new motor, the brand will consolidate the number of engines and control software, with the first Skyactiv-Z engine (a 2.5-liter inline-four) to make its debut in the next-generation CX-5 in 2027, where it will be paired with a hybrid system that Mazda will be building from the ground up.
Mazda has used different solutions to help make the internal combustion engine more efficient. Current Skyactiv-G engines utilize high compression ratios (usually 13:1 or 14:1) to improve fuel efficiency. Then, Skyactiv-X utilized Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI), which combines conventional spark ignition and compression ignition (like a diesel engine) to give the best of both worlds of improved power and diesel-like efficiency, but Skyactiv-X didn’t catch on in the rest of the world.
Skyactiv-Z will use a combustion method called lambda one, which aims to “achieve high thermal efficiency by realizing super lean burn combustion over a wide range from low to high rpm, to provide excellent environmental performance and driving performance.” It’s targeted to meet Euro 7 regulations for Europe, Low Emission Vehicle IV, and US EPA Tier 4 standards.
More excitingly, the new tech will be brought over to its inline-six engines and be utilized for the emission developments for the rotary engines.
As for Mazda’s full electrification efforts, an EV-dedicated platform that’s developed in-house will be debuting in a battery-EV model to be launched in 2027 and will be a global model produced in Japan, unlike the Changan-Mazda-produced 6e.
The automaker will also be employing the Lean Asset Strategy which will optimize the brand’s investments and manufacturing, such as making production lines more efficient and flexible, optimizing supply chains, and utilizing a mixed-production method that will allow for faster planning and development of products.
Photos from Mazda and Sam Surla
