Mazda Remains Committed to Diesels for US

Stephen Elmer
by Stephen Elmer

Mazda’s rollout of diesel engines in the U.S. is facing further delays in the wake of the VW emissions scandal, but the company remains committed to the launch.

Mazda’s managing executive officer in charge of research and development, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, says that reports of Mazda giving up on launching diesel engines in the U.S. are untrue. The initial rollout of Mazda’s diesel engines in the U.S. was delayed and re-planned for 2016, but new regulations are going to delay the launch even further.

“We’re committed to launching diesel-fueled cars in the United States,” Fujiwara told Reuters. “There is no doubt about that.”

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He went on to say that new tougher emissions tests being devised for diesels are set to cause further delays, which is why “we cannot say when we are going to be able to launch our diesel cars in the U.S. market at this point.”

According to Mazda, U.S. regulators have not notified them of changes to the testing procedures yet, but the company believes that revisions are coming which will delay the launch of its diesels.

“Tests are going to be tougher,” he said. “Regulators are not telling us or anybody what additional testing steps they have added to the processes.”

[Source: Reuters]

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Stephen Elmer
Stephen Elmer

Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>

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