Mazda is to double domestic production of its fuel-efficient Skyactiv engines in a push to install them in 80% of its vehicles by fiscal 2015, according to Japan’s Nikkei business daily.
The carmaker will spend about JPY30bn (US$3.5m) to build a line for the Skyactiv engines at its flagship plant in Hiroshima. Work is due to begin this year and finish in 2013.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The expansion will enable Mazda to produce between 800,000 and nearly 1m of the engines annually, up from its current capacity of about 400,000. In three years, the company plans to boost capacity to 1.5m units as it ramps up production in Mexico and China.
The updated Mazda 2 (Demio) subcompact, launched in Japan last summer, was the first model to feature the technology. Its 25km per litre fuel economy puts it on par with hybrid cars. A diesel version of the engine is featured in the CX-5 SUV which went on sale last month.
Skyactiv-equipped models currently account for about 20% of Mazda’s sales. The company intends to increase this, introducing eight models with the engines over the next five years. It is targeting global sales of 1.7m vehicles in fiscal 2015, with Skyactiv engines featured in 80%.
Mazda will also lift its production capacity for a new, more efficient, type of automatic transmission at its Hofu factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
