Categories: Cars

Mazda Rotary Assisted EVs Still Being Considered

Mazda announced plans to continue developing Wankel rotary engines for use as generators on upcoming electric vehicles last month and says it plans to stay the course. The automaker, which used high-revving rotary engines in its performance vehicles through 2008, remained committed to repurposing them as battery chargers. However, the last model it tried that on turned out to be a bit of a dud in terms of sales.

The MX-30 was an abject failure for the brand. Its relatively small battery pack struggled to even reach 100 miles between charges and it was fairly slow for an all-electric vehicle in its respective segment. Its only real advantages were the fact that it looked decent, played host to a nice interior, and was priced lower than a few of its competitors. But these weren’t enough to save it on our market. Sales were horrendous and it was promptly discontinued.

While we never got to see it here, other regions were given the MX-30 R-EV — which nearly halved the size of the already small battery to make room for a Wankel rotary generator and fuel tank. Still technically an EV, the generator meant that you could continue driving the MX-30 R-EV after the battery pack was depleted for charge. The resulting product doesn’t sound like it was much better than the MX-30 that failed to sell here. But the R-EV variant did serve as a proof-of-concept that on-board generators can indeed be used to help eliminate range anxiety.

Unfortunately, Nissan had already proven that with its e-POWER system and the rotary generator on the MX-30’s rotary reportedly drones unpleasantly once you’ve gone past its roughly 50 miles of all-electric range.

Regardless, Mazda is sticking with the premise. It’s not only planning to build more EVs, it likewise wants to field a new all-electric SUV by 2027 with at least one variant playing host to a Wankel rotary generator. The automaker believes it could make a decent alternative to plug-in hybrids which haven’t sold as well as the industry hoped.

It’s certainly not a sure thing, especially considering public acceptance of EVs seems to have plateaued for the time being. But Mazda’s rotary engine development team was reinstated at the start of 2024, with the manufacturer stating that their primary mission would be to focus on designing generators.

Mazda is likewise on track to deliver another electrified crossover for Europe before 2027 in partnership with China’s state-owned Changan Automobile. While we haven’t seen any vehicles stemming from that collaboration, previous entries have indeed been electric models utilizing gasoline-powered range extenders.

[Images: Mazda]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter

Source: The Truth About Cars

WBN

Share
Published by
WBN

Recent Posts

County cricket day four: Middlesex v Lancs, and Essex v Surrey end in draws – live

Updates from around the grounds as first round finishesGet in touch! Share your thoughts with…

2 hours ago

Jenna Ortega Shares a Knife-Slim Bit of Insight Into Her Scream Exit

After appearing in Scream parts five and six, Ortaga left the franchise at a particularly…

2 hours ago

Bezos Finally Ready to Compete With Musk’s Starlink as Amazon’s Kuiper Prepares for Launch

Bezos' attempt at forming an internet satellite constellation has a lot of catching up to…

2 hours ago

Scammers are getting smarter, here’s how you can prevent getting phished

Some scam emails and texts are easy to spot, but scammers are getting better, and…

3 hours ago

Revered Wildlife Photographer Jim Brandenburg Dies Age 79

National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg has died at age 79 in Minnesota. Tributes have poured…

3 hours ago

Deals: Save up to $1,700 on MacBook Pros today

Steep discounts on current and closeout MacBook Pros are in effect this week, with budget-friendly…

3 hours ago