Diesel Amplifies Mazda Vehicles

Before the year ends, Mazda will expand its diesel offerings in Australia.

An example is the Mazda 3 diesel that will join the Mazda6 and is expected to arrive in September. It will be available in both sedan and hatchback form, the Mazda 3 will have the same engine as the present Mazda6 diesel.

One hundred five kilowatt (105 kW) and 360Nm are produced by the 2.0-litre common-rail turbo diesel and its fuel consumption is rated at 6L/100km.

Will only be available in the one Maxx Sport trim level, the Mazda 3 will feature a rear spoiler as well as 16-inch wheels. And not like the petrol models, Direct Stability Control will be available as a standard feature.

Alistair Doak, Mazda spokesman, said that the Japanese company is targeting to sell more than 100 Mazda3 diesels per month. However, he added that it will be a reasonably small percentage of overall sold Mazda 3 units. For the month of May, Mazda reached sales of 2758 units. This figure means that the car is the second most popular small car, next to Toyota Corolla.

Mazda originally forecasted 50 sales per month for the Mazda 6 diesel when it went on sale. But Doak said that they now target 100 models per month. He added that the company has no plans to expand the diesel range further in Australia.

He explained that the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 will be the two diesel passenger cars, the car types that comprise the highest sales in Europe. He further explained that their fellow Japanese car makers are not offering any diesel car and the company is introducing the second one.

He also said that the company has no plans for diesel engines in the larger CX-7 as well as to the yet-to-arrive CX-9 because these cars are primarily for the market in North America, where demand for diesel is far too low.

The generation of the Mazda 2 will follow after the Mazda 3 diesel. The Mazda 2, which is smaller, will go on sale in October and is expected to remain at nearly $16,000 for the entry model.

According to Doak, buyers can expect that the new Mazda2 will be comparable in price to the current car, which begins at $16,335 for the Neo and rises to $20,290 for the excellent Genki model. He added that the Mazda2 would be available only with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, not like some of its competing cars, which offer 1.3-litre entry models. He further stated that as to the cost, certainly there is not much difference.

With the light car running in the third spot of sales behind Mazda3 and Mazda6, the Mazda 2, according to him, is an essential part of the overall line-up. He said that the car's styling brings it into line with the rest of the Mazda line-up. He also said that the company has always established good image regarding being a leader in style and the Mazda2 should also establish good reputation in the light-car segment.

Since December 2002, the current car has been on sale. So far this year, Mazda has sold 3045 units, which is a 30 percent increase on last year's sales figures.

The industry is also expecting that Mazda will carry over the existing three model names; Neo, Maxx and Genki.

With curtain and side airbags as options and the ABS in the current model, safety has been the very aim of building the car. The new one is expected to add dynamic stability control feature to the safety kit. This new comer removed nearly 100kg of weight from its predecessor.

The company says that high-tensile steel was utilized to slice out weight without putting at risk the safety, body inflexibility, noise, vibration and sharpness. It also claims that the car has improved up to 15 percent over the current car. So this has benefits for fuel economy. The 60/40 split rear-fold seat is still present while the luggage area has been decreased from 280 to 250 liters.

The 1.5-litre offers 76kW at 6000 revs and 136Nm at 4000 revs – decreases from 82kW at 6000 revs and 141Nm at 4000 revs.

About Mazda Motor Corporation
A Japanese automotive manufacturer that is based in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation is a well known producer of different types of vehicles as well as their corresponding Mazda auto parts. It began supplying tools in 1929 and soon branched out into production of trucks for commercial purposes.

The manufacturer’s name is derived from the transcendental God of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda. It is also believed that Mazda coincides with the anglicized pronunciation of Zoroastrianism founder's name, Jujiro Matsuda, and opted to rename it in honor of both his family and the believers of Zoroastrianism. In the Avestan language, Mazda means “wisdom”. Nonetheless, because the company is from Japan, the name has always been pronounced and spelled as "Matsuda". This leads the public to believe that “Mazda” is just an anglicized version of the founder.

The company is expected to produce 1.25 million vehicles annually as of 2006. Among Japan, Europe, North America, and Latin America, its sales will be evenly divided.

Mazda’s 33.4% of controlling interest is controlled by the Ford Motor Company.