Mazda Motor Corporation started mass production of the Mazda MX-30 e‑Skyactiv R-EV1 for the European market at its Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima today.
The MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV is Mazda’s first mass-production vehicle with a rotary engine in 11 years since the Mazda RX-8 was discontinued in June 2012. Mazda has cumulatively produced over 1.99 million rotary engine vehicles.
The MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV is a unique plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that gives a new purpose to Mazda’s unique rotary engine. This compact, lightweight internal combustion engine drives a generator that either charges the battery or provides additional power if needed. The vehicle is always driven by the electric motor.
While the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV’s 85 km battery electric driving range is sufficient for most daily driving needs, the rotary engine extends the driving range if needed. The MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV is the ideal vehicle for customers who would like to drive electrically most of the time and travel longer distances occasionally without range anxiety.
The original MX-30 e-Skyactiv EV2 was introduced in 2020 as Mazda’s first mass-production battery electric vehicle. Now the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV adds a unique plug-in hybrid option to the lineup.
The MX-30 embodies Mazda’s multi-solution approach to move towards carbon neutrality. Natural products like cork and fabrics made from recycled material were adopted in the design process.
The MX-30’s multitone paint is applied with a high-precision spray gun that spreads the individual colours precisely onto the surface where they are needed and significantly reduces paint loss. Moreover, the newly developed paints harden at an unusually low temperature of approximately 80°C. Together, these steps reduce CO2 emissions of the multi-tone painting process by approximately 34% – 37%.
A 1.1 MW solar power system that went operational at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in July 2021 supplies electricity to charge the newly produced MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV vehicles before shipping them.
SOURCE: Mazda
