Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru have announced a plan for the joint development of combustion engines that can be paired with hybrid systems to reduce emissions.
In a joint statement, the three companies stated that the goal of the project is to achieve carbon neutrality with internal combustion engines, allowing these engines to remain in production in the future with stricter global emission standards.
This new generation of engine groups will be specifically designed for electrification, promising to be smaller, more efficient engines compatible with a variety of carbon-neutral fuels, aligning with the path towards decarbonization.
“To offer our customers various options to achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to take on the challenge of evolving engines that are in tune with the energy environment of the future. technologies of engines through friendly competition.”, emphasized Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota.
Despite no date being advanced for the presentation of these new engines, it is already known that Mazda will continue to work on the development of the Wankel engine, and Subaru has not hidden that it will bet on its well-known technology of engines with opposed cylinders (or boxer).
“As we continue to refine electrification technology, we will also improve our horizontally opposed engines with the goal of using carbon-neutral fuels in the future. Moving forward, the three companies that share the same aspiration will continue to advance in the pursuit of sustainable excellence in Japanese car manufacturing,” stated Atsushi Osaki, president and CEO of Subaru.
On the other hand, Mazda sees this new challenge as an important step to continue developing its rotary engine. “Given the compatibility of the rotary engine with electrification and carbon-neutral fuels, Mazda will continue to develop the technology through co-creation and competition to ensure that it can contribute widely to society,” emphasized Masahiro Moro, president and CEO of Mazda Motor Corporation.
This joint approach by Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru comes at a time when global sales of electric vehicles are slowing down and shows that models with combustion engines can have a future.
