Does anyone know if any Mazda Hybrids are in the works?

That seems to be the world is going, electrification and I personally would like to see a Hybrid Mazda 6 option.

 

With Toyota's partnership with Mazda, yes they are developing hybrid Mazdas.

Toyota and Mazda join forces

However, Mazda's current skyactiv engines aren't far off Toyota's Hybrid economy, especially with i-stop.

Also with Mazda's new Skyactiv-X compression petrol engine does away with the need for hybrid technology in economy stakes.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...e-drive-review

 

Its good that Mazda is being innovative. They are one of my favorite car companies in this regards (thinking outside the box and being innovative).

I have read about the HCCI engine before. Looks promising. I think this promising combustion engine/technology improvement (and other improvements from Mazda) partnered with a battery (Hybrid) will put Mazda at the front of the pack regarding fuel efficiency and fun engine performance. This is the reason why I bought my 6 back in 15. Its why most likely why my future vehicle will be another Mazda. I would like this next "6" to be a hybrid but a fun hybrid, both with great MPG and that pep/zoom zoom personality.

 

After reading your initial post, I got a little curious about the current Camry Hybrid offering. Without going into detailed cost analysis, it looks like the most fuel efficient offering is the base model with the cost going up while the mpg goes down as you climb the Camry tiers. This is not the case with the Mazda6. When you add the premium package the mpg goes up to help justify the cost for the extra goodies. I also remembered an article I found when researching what the heck I-ELOOP is before purchasing my 2017 Mazda6. Here is the article. I've highlighted the lines that I think is the biggest reason for choosing I-ELOOP over a hybrid.


Mazda wants youto save fuel while being able to maintain the fun to drive factor that their cars are known for. One way they’ve done that is by using SkyActivtechnology in their recent vehicles. But they have another trick up their sleeve. That trick is Mazda i-Eloop.

i-Eloop stands for Intelligent Energy Loop. It’s a brake energy regeneration system.Normally when you hit the brake pedal in a car, the kineticenergy that the braking process creates is simply lost. Mazda uses this to power to relieve the engine from the need to produce this electricity for your in-car stereo, navigation system, lights, and anything else electrical. By recovering and reusing the energy that is produced when a car decelerates, Mazda can get significant improvements in fuel economy. Before I tell you how it works, let’s look at the parts that make up the i-Eloop system:

• Variable voltage alternator: Responding to voltage level charges in the capacitor, the alternator automatically varies its voltage (between 12V and 25V) in order to smoothly transfer electricity to the capacitor.
• Electric Double Layer Capacitor: An electricity storage device similar to a battery. but it does not involve a chemical reaction.
• DC/DC convertor: Converts the voltage of electricity from the capacitor (max. 25V) to 12V in order to supply power to the electrical components.

The first thing you notice is that there is no battery. The reason is simple. By using acapacitor to store energy you get the following advantages:

• You get a power density of over 10kW/kg which is something that a battery (lithium-ion or lead acid) can’t come close to.
• It is capable of charging and discharging a large amount of energy at once. That’s another thing that batteries can’t match.
• There’s a very low amount of deterioration after repeated charging and discharging. A battery has to be replaced eventually. Usually within a few years at a cost to you.
• The capacitor mainly consists of activated carbon which is derived from coconut husks. No precious metals or heavy metals are used. That means it’s environmentally friendly.
• Capacitors unlike batteries can work at higher ambient temperatures making it possible to locate it in the engine bay. Batteries in hybrids are typically in the trunk which affects how the car can handle and reduces the available storage space in the trunk.

Now how does i-Eloop work? When the accelerator is released, a high-performance alternator powered by torque from the tires generates electric energy which is quickly transferred to the capacitor. Now when you accelerate, the alternator does not generate electricity. Instead, the capacitor generates the electricity. The fact that the engine is not generating electricity means thatit can be turned off at stop lights automatically and automatically turned on when you let go of the brakes. Mazda calls the automatic stop/start functionality i-Stop and in combination with i-Eloop, it can deliver up to a 10% savings in fuel. Now if the electricity available exceeds what the car is actually using, the excess electricity is used to charge the lead-acid battery that starts thecar.

Another thingto note is that Mazda paid special attention to ensure that the system produces the maximum power generating torque for a given degree of deceleration but does not itself produce unnecessary deceleration which may annoy the driver. For example, if you drive a typical hybrid, hitting the brakes feels very weird and disconnected. That drives some people (like me for example) nuts. So the fact that Mazda looked after that is great.

This technology is available as an option in the Mazda6 and Mazda3. I’m sure it will be making an appearance in other Mazda vehicles eventually. That way regardless of what Mazda you drive, you can get better fuel economy while keeping the fun to drive factor. This is an option that’s very much looking into if you’re in the market for a car from Mazda.



Back to metz1295: Take the article's description for what it's worth, but it is not from a Mazda sales team talking to a publication. Mazda did a pretty good job with the animations, on the main screen, showing what is going on with the i-ELOOP while the car is being driven. It's pretty cool.

 

Mazda's biggest fiel saving device is i-stop. For some reason the American market decided against it.

 

Because a rechargeable battery is just easier to understand.

 

Its got nothing to do with the battery.

All car batteries are rechargeable.

 

I have the GT (Grand Touring) Mazda 6 tech package with i-eLoop. This system is great and does help add one or two miles per gallon. Yes, the i-eLoop system uses ultra capacitors instead of batteries to power these devices.

The thing is, the i-eLoop system does not offer as much of an increase for miles per gallon as a battery hybrid system would. Battery hybrids hold more of a charge. Because of this, the battery can run motors to actually propel the vehicle (think Toyota Prius).

The i-eLoop system does not propel the vehicle. The only thing it does is power the electronics for about 30 seconds. This takes some of the load off of the alternator. Since the alternator is a mechanical device that is directly connected to the engine and has a load/resistance (requires some HP to power) when powering devices, causing this device to come on less often (even if its only for 30 seconds less at a time) will (and does) slightly increase MPG.

I would like Mazda to have a battery system that propels and powers the vehicle, such as like the Prius does now. Either that, or have Mazda further develop their Ultra Capacitors so that the capacitors hold a lot more charge. That they hold as much of a charge as a battery (in as much space and with as much weight) and that these Ultra Capacitors power the vehicle (instead of a battery).

 

If only Mazda North America fitted i-stop to their vehicles like the rest of the world.