Mazda exec: ‘These are the last internal-combustion engines’

The global shift towards electric vehicles is in full swing, with one senior manager at Mazda suggesting we could be witnessing the last petrol and diesel engines to be developed.

“This will be – most likely be – the last generation of internal-combustion engines,” Mazda Europe’s head of technical development, Joachim Kunz, told Automotive News Europe last month.

However, Kunz looked to downplay his comments later, telling the UK’s Autocar just last week the MX-5 would continue in its current format.

“[The MX-5 is] our brand icon and it is always treated very specially,” he said.

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“At the moment, it looks like we will have this car forever, with this size and concept and combustion engine. Of course, some day, we will have to electrify it, but we want to keep this pure concept.”

Rumours of a mild-hybrid MX-5 have swirled for some time, after technical drawings first surfaced in 2020.

Kunz’s suggestion that this is the last generation of internal-combustion engines came as he outlined plans for the Japanese carmaker to offer a Euro 7-compliant six-cylinder diesel engine in the future.

“Mazda will fulfil the Euro 7 emission standards with the new diesel engine,” Kunz said, despite the final regulations not yet being written up.

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The European Union is planning to introduce the stringent new emissions regulations from 2025, opening a number of new testing facilities recently ahead of the changes.

“Having a 3.3-litre engine means we want to be on the safe side for torque and power,” he said during the CX-60’s unveiling last month.

“To get low NOx emissions we need low combustion temperatures. Having a bigger engine keeps temperatures lower, which is good both for reducing the heat loss and for cutting the raw NOx emissions. This in turn will enable us to have a simpler after-treatment system.”