Mazda: We can get 30% more from petrol engines

Mazda believes it can make its naturally-aspirated car engines 30 per cent more efficient.

In an interview with the Irish Independent newspaper, Mazda’s Michio Tomiyama said the company had no compelling plan to go down the electric-car, or the hybrid route because there is such relative little demand overall for electric cars.

The estimated 740,000 electric cars sold in 2014 make up less than 0.5% of the 85 m new vehicles sold overall. However, an upturn in sales of battery-powered cars means the figure accounts for almost half of all electric passenger vehicles on the road today.

In stark contrast with the pro-electric vehicle stance adopted by Nissan, and Toyota’s investment in Tesla, head of research and development at Honda and Mazda appear lukewarm where battery powered cars are concerned. Honda’s Tomohiko Kawanabe, has, in the past, admitted: “We are definitely conducting research on electric cars, but I can’t say I can wholeheartedly recommend them… It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them.”

Nissan believes that 10 per cent of the global car market will be pure electric by 2020 – an estimate that may represent over 10m vehicles per year.

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.

{{cta-cycling}}