Mazda says demand for its new Skyactiv-X engine in Europe is “much higher than expected” despite it commanding a premium over conventional petrol and diesel powertrains.

Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Mazda Europe CEO Yasuhiro Aoyama said customer interest was “encouraging”.

“Since we launched the engine, we are seeing a very encouraging feedback: 60 percent of the orders for the Mazda3 are currently for cars equipped with the Skyactiv-X engine, as well as 45 percent of orders for the Mazda CX-30 crossover," Aoyama-san said.

The Skyactiv-X engine is considered the world’s first commercial petrol unit to combine the spark ignition of a petrol engine with the compression ignition of a diesel.

In June 2019, the Japanese firm confirmed the European-spec Mazda3 fitted with the 2,0-litre, four-cylinder Skyactiv-X powerplant offered 132 kW at 6 000 r/min and 224 N.m at 3 000 r/min. Claimed fuel consumption (on the latest WLTP cycle), meanwhile, would come in at 5,4 L/100 km with CO2 emissions of 96 g/km, depending on transmission and wheel size.

In July 2019, the head of Mazda Southern Africa confirmed to CARmag.co.za that while the brand would like to offer the compression-ignition petrol engine locally, the country’s fuel quality was preventing it from doing so.

Original article from Car