New Mazda 2 may be 12 months away with rotary-engined hybrid tech – report

The next generation of the Mazda 2 city car may finally be on track for launch late next year – after multiple false starts – according to a new reports out of Japan.

Reports out of Japan in recent years have claimed a new Mazda 2 was due in 2021 or 2023, however they did not eventuate – and the current model introduced in 2014 has soldiered on with mild updates, including a facelift earlier this year.

However respected Japanese publication Best Car has this week reported the Mazda 2 will be renewed for a fourth generation next year – a decade after the current model went on sale globally.

The magazine says its trail of information from Mazda insider sources had gone cold – until now, claiming a global unveiling is planned for late 2024 or early 2025.

According to Best Car, the next Mazda 2 is planned to sit on new underpinnings, and offer a 1.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, or new 1.5-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid ‘SkyActiv-X’ engine derived from the 2.0-litre SkyActiv-X four-cylinder in the Mazda 3.

The publication also claims Mazda may also introduce the plug-in hybrid technology from the MX-30 e-SkyActiv R-EV city SUV – which uses an 830cc rotary engine to charge a battery pack that powers an electric motor driving the front wheels.

Best Car’s Mazda source says the new Mazda 2 “adopts a cute, rounded design” that is softer than the current model.

More information about the new-generation Mazda 2 is expected to be revealed closer to the model’s reported launch in late 2024.

The post New Mazda 2 may be 12 months away with rotary-engined hybrid tech – report appeared first on Drive.