• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Toyota is No. 3 — Third Automaker to Pass EV Tax Credit Threshold
  • Ford Gains Ground on Strong June Sales, Up 31.5% YOY
  • Q&A: Cadillac Lyriq Exterior Design Manager Josh Thurber
  • After 18% Sales Slide, Tesla No Longer World’s Best-Selling EV Brand
  • Get Updated on Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast
  • Founder of Spartan Diesel Technologies Faces a Year in Jail for Selling Diesel Defeat Devices
  • What Costs More: New Car or Rent? The $1K a Month Car Payment Hit’s New Highs
  • The Rearview Mirror: The End of the Road for Route 66
  • Here We Go Again: Automakers Report June Sales Decline
  • Recession or Not, U.S. Car Market is in For a Big Boom
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus NX 350h
    • A Week With: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Overland
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SE R-Line Black
    • First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Everglades Edition
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda3 2.5 S AWD Hatchback
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda HR-V
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor
    • A Week With: 2022 GMC Terrain AT4 AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Mazda Ends Plans for U.S. Diesel

        Mazda Ends Plans for U.S. Diesel

        Pulled from CX-5 crossover, it won’t be used in the Mazda6 or other products.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Jan. 21, 2021
        The Japanese automaker cancelled plans to offer the Mazda6 with a high-mileage diesel in the U.S.

        With the decision to scrap plans to use the SkyActiv-D engine in its Mazda6 sedan, the Japanese automaker has formally abandoned the idea of offering high-mileage diesel engines to U.S. buyers.

        The news comes just months after Mazda announced it had certified the SkyActiv-D for use in its midsize sedan. But its fate seemed uncertain as, almost to the day last October, the automaker also said it was ending diesel production in Europe. That has traditionally been the biggest market for “oil-burner” technology.

        While Mazda hasn’t offered a clear explanation as to why its suddenly soured on diesel technology there appears to be a number of reasons, including high production costs, declining demand and the damage done to the technology’s reputation as a result of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

        (Better late than never, Mazda gets into diesel game with CX-5 SkyActiv-D.)

        Mazda finally put a diesel in to one of its products: the 2019 CX-5 crossover.

        Mazda has been talking about introducing a diesel into the U.S. market for the better part of a decade, plans originally calling for what become the SkyActiv-D engine to debut in 2014. That was pushed back repeatedly, however, the 2.2-liter powertrain only showing up in the States in time for the 2019 model year. And then, it was offered only on a single product line, the Mazda CX-5.

        But Mazda buyers turned a cold shoulder to the diesel, realizing that it was substantially more expensive than the crossover’s base inline-4 gas engine. And it couldn’t compete with the more similarly priced turbo offering. That 2.5-liter package turned out as much as 250 horsepower – using premium fuel, 227 on regular – and 310 pound-feet of torque. By comparison, the SkyActiv-D managed only 168 hp and 290 lb-ft.

        The diesel did deliver 3,500 pounds of towing capacity, or 1,500 more than the gas turbo alternative. But it was questionable how many CX-5 buyers would care, especially considering there was only a marginal improvement compared with the base gas engine’s fuel economy.

        With little to recommend it, the CX-5’s diesel option was pulled from the order list at the end of the 2019 model year. Still, Mazda continued to say it would reappear in the Mazda6 sedan, especially after receiving U.S. certification last autumn. But, there appeared likely to be even fewer selling points when sliding the SkyActiv-D under the hood of the sedan – for which Mazda doesn’t recommend towing.

        Mazda had planned to offer its 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D clean diesel in the 2014 Mazda6 sedan.

        The proverbial handwriting on the wall, however, appeared last October when Mazda announced it was ending diesel production in Europe and planned to sell out remaining stock by the end of the year.

        (First Drive: 2020 Mazda6 Signature.)

        In terms of basic economies of scale, that hit to production volumes certainly didn’t enhance the Mazda diesel’s business case. But other factors clearly contributed, including the SkyActiv-D’s questionable consumer advantages, as well as the steady decline in diesel sales.

        Then there’s the ongoing damage caused by the Volkswagen scandal which revealed the automaker rigging its diesel engines to improperly pass emissions tests. Regulators in the U.S., Europe and other markets have since fined a number of other manufacturers for engaging in similar subterfuge.

        Diesels aren’t expected to go away, at least not in the near term, but several recent studies have suggested that plug-based electric vehicles are likely to outsell oil burners in the U.S. market by 2022, with demand for diesels largely relegated to pickup trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles where they can deliver notable advantages.

        For Mazda, the good news is that its gas-powered SkyActiv technology is some of the most efficient on the market, routinely putting the automaker at or near the top of the charts in terms of fleet average fuel economy.

        The 2020 Mazda CX-5 got a diesel powerplant, the SkyActiv-D, after a two-year delay by the automaker.

        That said, with emissions and mileage mandates rapidly increasing around the world – and with a number of markets, such as the U.K. and the State of California pressing to ban internal combustion engines entirely – Mazda still faces some challenges.

        The automaker recently launched its first battery-electric vehicle in Europe. It’s a relatively short-range model and, much as BMW did with its i3 electric city car, Mazda will add a range extender for those who want the option to travel longer distances. For that, however, Mazda has returned to its old toolkit and dusted off the Wankel rotary engine that once was a key part of its powertrain portfolio.

        (Return of the Rotary: Mazda will use Wankel as range extender for all-electric MX-30.)

        While no formal timetable has been announced, Mazda North America President Jeff Guyton last month told TheDetroitBureau that “our plan” is to bring the EV to the U.S. “The range-extender option would be more appropriate” to meet the expectations of American motorists than the battery-only version, he added.

        Recently Published
        2023 Toyota bZ4X XLE FWD driving

        Toyota is No. 3 — Third Automaker to Pass EV Tax Credit Threshold

        Yesterday
        2022 Ford F-150 Tremor - front 3-4

        Ford Gains Ground on Strong June Sales, Up 31.5% YOY

        Yesterday

        Q&A: Cadillac Lyriq Exterior Design Manager Josh Thurber

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: