Skyactiv to drive Mazda’s growth

Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. plans to stay focused on gasoline-powered vehicles and says the new Skyactiv fuel-efficient car is an example of where the company is headed. Takashi Yamamouchi, president of Mazda, said recently, “Skyactiv will be one of the drivers of our growth.”  Yamanouchi also stated his belief that gasoline engines will still power 80 to 90% of the world’s vehicles 20 years from now. Mazda is currently working on a new hybrid car for launch in 2013, but has no electric vehicles in production. The Skyactiv Demio, which is being sold in Japan, can get 71 miles to the gallon, and features a fuel saving idling stop. Mazda has been affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan but Yamanouchi reports that the company maintains its target for annual global sales of 1.7 million vehicles by March 2016. (June 30, 2011)