[ReillyJ]

The MX-30 will be arriving in the US later this fall starting in California!

2022 Mazda MX-30 EV Coming to California This Fall, Hybrid to Follow

The U.S. version of this quirky electric crossover has 144 horsepower and a small battery pack. A plug-in hybrid with a rotary gasoline engine will arrive later.

www.caranddriver.com

Mazda's first electric vehicle will finally arrive in the United States later this year, starting in California this fall. The 2022 MX-30 will initially be available only as a battery-powered EV, while a plug-in-hybrid version with a rotary gasoline engine will arrive later on, likely sometime next year.

The fully electric version features a single electric motor powering the front wheels. Power output is 144 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque, making it significantly less powerful than many other affordable EVs.

A small lithium-ion battery pack provides just 35.5 kWh of total capacity—Mazda isn't providing a usable-capacity number yet, but we'd estimate it at around 32.0 kWh. This means that the MX-30 isn't likely to offer much more than 100 miles of range on a single charge on the EPA cycle. (Official ratings aren't yet available, but the MX-30 is rated at 124 miles on the more optimistic WLTP cycle.) Mazda hasn't released specs for the range-extender hybrid version, but its gasoline engine and fuel tank will likely provide significantly more driving range. DC fast-charging capability is standard, with Mazda claiming that the MX-30 can charge to 80 percent full in 36 minutes.

Within the current context of EV offerings, the MX-30 is more of a competitor to the Mini Electric, which has similar power and range numbers, than it is an alternative to longer-range affordable options such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV. And like the Mini, the MX-30 has distinctive styling inside and out, with RX-8–inspired rear half doors and interesting materials such as cork found on the dashboard.

While pricing is not yet available, we think the MX-30 will need an appealingly low starting price to overcome its low range and power numbers. The Mini Electric starts at just over $30,000, so Mazda would do well to try to match or undercut that with the MX-30's base price.

 

[dpaCPA]

The thing I don’t understand is the use of a rotary engine as a generator. Seems completely wrong to me. The rotaries were extremely inefficient, unreliable and didn’t like to be run at low constant rpm.

Anyone know of advancements with the technology to address these issues?

 

[Milkfloat]

Mazda had improved the Wankel engine consistently until it was pulled in 2011 due to emissions regulations. (Emissions caused primarily by residual un-burnt fuel and seal lubricant.) The reliability issues, largely caused by seals, had been mostly overcome. As Mazda have continued to work on it since then, we can assume that it will have improved. Importantly though, the MX-30 will be a "range extender". It is intended to be an electric vehicle with range anxiety removed by use of a small generator. The engine may be as small as 40kW, to keep size and weight down, and it will run at optimum conditions not determined by a driver. It will breeze through emissions regulations because most, if not all, of the regulatory tests will be done with electric only propulsion. The fuel efficiency will probably still lag reciprocating engines but it comes back to the concept again. And then the smoothness of the rotary is a major advantage.

 

[rchrdjsch]

The thing I don’t understand is the use of a rotary engine as a generator. Seems completely wrong to me. The rotaries were extremely inefficient, unreliable and didn’t like to be run at low constant rpm.

Anyone know of advancements with the technology to address these issues?

Hello, I'm brand new here but as a RX-2 owner who was delighted with the power density of the Wankel I can address the question a little bit in my opinion. Hybrids with large engines miss the target because lugging around all the extra weight is a penalty. I know one friend who commented that in his Volt he had been toting the same one gallon of gas in the tank for several months. How efficient is that?
To me there is a sweet spot between all electric (ie huge battery and no IC components whatsoever) and a "Gas car".
The highest power to weight ratio if the generator drives down the size of the battery and covers the problem of battery energy to weight ratio.
Looking at drive cycles we see peaks of required power to the wheels. Battery can fill the gap between a 38 kw available engine and the need to get to the top of a hill. On the other hand during low demand operation (90% of the time tbh) the battery can coolly sip 15 kw and get you happily down the road without having to spin a lot of , let's be honest, lossy wasteful overkill large ICE operating at, what 20% of it's best economy point.
The "range extender" is as small as possible.
That's what I'm looking for.
When the Volt came out I said no way. The only thing that might have gotten me into a Volt would be a miniature 1.0L V-8 with 2" dual exhaust that would sound cool when I want to impress my pals but that would not be a huge weight penalty when I want to do my EV thing.
I'm old school EV. I built my own EV conversion in '97 and drove it 10 years and 20,000 miles. Later I leased two consecutive Chevy Sparks and now my 3 year lease on a 2019 Bolt is almost up. I'm ready for the Mazda MX-30 hybrid. Where can I find out what is under the hood. Sales people are so uneducated.

 

[rchrdjsch]

Mazda had improved the Wankel engine consistently until it was pulled in 2011 due to emissions regulations. (Emissions caused primarily by residual un-burnt fuel and seal lubricant.) The reliability issues, largely caused by seals, had been mostly overcome. As Mazda have continued to work on it since then, we can assume that it will have improved. Importantly though, the MX-30 will be a "range extender". It is intended to be an electric vehicle with range anxiety removed by use of a small generator. The engine may be as small as 40kW, to keep size and weight down, and it will run at optimum conditions not determined by a driver. It will breeze through emissions regulations because most, if not all, of the regulatory tests will be done with electric only propulsion. The fuel efficiency will probably still lag reciprocating engines but it comes back to the concept again. And then the smoothness of the rotary is a major advantage.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...cQFnoECDYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1aevO1ZyoQvs7hcCh6xrmM

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[Milkfloat]

If the range extender happens, rather than just putting a 50kWh battery in the BEV, it will probably be a Wankel of abut 500cc swept volume that would only run at about 2000rpm giving about 40kW. The existing battery pack would be retained and the fuel tank for the engine would be small; only about 15 litres. Typically, there would be 3 driving modes. 1. Battery only until it is almost flat when the engine would cut in and run continuously to raise the SOC. 2. Normal auto where the computer decides how to manage battery capacity by intermittently running the engine and 3. The engine runs for most accelerative periods and some cruise to keep a high SOC in the battery. I still think that the REX will go the way of thei3 before it ever gets into production. The link wouldn't open for me by the way.

 

[h5n1xp]

I agree with @Milkfloat that I’m struggling to see how the Range extender version will offer any advantages over simply putting a bigger battery in the car…

£1.6bn plan to boost EV chargers in the UK

The UK government has unveiled a £1.6bn plan to increase the number of public electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints to 300,000 by 2030.

www.eenewseurope.com