What's the news?

The Tokyo Motor Show opens in a month's time and Mazda will display the new Mazda3 with a variety of different powertrain types. As well as petrol and diesel engines there are hybrid and CNG options - the latter is making its world debut as the Mazda3 SkyActiv-CNG Concept.

Increasing demand for compressed natural gas powered vehicles lead to the creation of the SkyActiv-CNG Concept. It is a dual-fuel vehicle that also runs on unleaded petrol; according to Mazda the high-compression SkyActiv-G engine required only minor modifications to run on gas. Using CNG is said to reduce emissions by 20% compared to the equivalent size petrol engine.

The Mazda3 SkyActiv-Hybrid is only for the Japanese market at the moment. It combines a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor. Details of the system are not given in the official press release but some sources quote fuel economy of between 71- and 88mpg. Part of the boot space is sacrificed to the battery and hybrid system components, which are located over the back axle. In Japan the hybrid carries a 13% price premium over the equivalent petrol model.

Anything else?

Mazda will also show the Atenza (Mazda6) ASV-5 concept, which is equipped with a variety of high-tech safety equipment. One of those systems enables communication between cars with an in-car autonomous sensor to communicate with trams to prevent collisions and encourage smooth traffic flow.

John Lambert - 23 Oct 2013