New Mazda2 hatchback in NZ later this year

July 18, 2014 by Alastair Sloane

Mazda headquarters in Japan has unveiled the production version of its small Mazda2 hatchback before its arrival in New Zealand in November/December.

The car, shown here in Japanese spec as the Demio, bares a striking similarity in size and appearance to the Hazumi concept revealed at the Geneva motor show in March. It uses the same ‘Kodo’ design language as Mazda’s bigger models, the 3, 6 and CX-5 SUV.

Mazda2 said to be slightly bigger allround than current car

Mazda is yet to confirm the dimensions of the 2, but the Hazumi was 4070mm long, 1730mm wide and 1450mm high – slightly longer, wider and lower than the current Mazda2. The exterior styling is said to have been a collaborative effort, led by Japan with input from design studios in Germany and California.

Production of the 2, which has been fully redesigned for the first time in seven years, has begun at Mazda’s Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi, Japan. It is built using Mazda’s Skyactiv technology, a package of lighter components and more fuel-efficient engines and gearboxes.

Mazda NZ managing director Andrew Clearwater said that after seven years of strong performance from the current Mazda2, there was a high level of anticipation for the new model.

Mazda2 gets Skyactiv technology

“The current model has been a star in New Zealand and we expect the new car will set the bar very high for the small compact market – it is an outstanding vehicle.”

The Mazda2 powertrain line-up for the NZ market is still under consideration, but the 2 is likely to get Skyactiv 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol engines mated to six-speed SkyActiv automatic and manual transmissions. Some markets will get the new 1.5-litre diesel unit, said to be good for C02 emissions of around 90gr/km.

French carmaker Renault has won the 2025 European Car of the Year award with the all-electric R5 supermini (pictured). It’s the brand’s second win in a row, following the new Scenic’s gong in 2024. The R5 led the vote count from start to finish from the 60 jurors in 23 countries. It received 353 points, beating the Kia EV3 (291 points) and the Citroen C3/e in third place with 215 points. It’s Renault’s eighth win in the 62-year history of the Coty award. The R5 goes on sale in the UK this month. There are two main drivetrains: a 90kW motor/40kWh battery model with a 300km range, and a 112kW/52kWh example with a 400km range. The R5 starts in price at £22.995, or $NZ50,000.

Eight European Union countries are pushing to weaken new EU emissions limits for cars, saying they are overly ambitious and unrealistic for carmakers to hit. The eight countries – France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – said in a joint paper that parts of the proposed Euro 7 regulation, including curbs on exhaust pipe emissions, should be scrapped entirely. They said the limits would force carmakers to invest in improving exhaust emissions performance, money which would be better spent on developing zero-emission vehicles. Taken together, the countries would have enough votes to block the proposal.

A go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move. The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque. The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.