The Mazda6 diesel was supposed to have been launched in the US back in 2013. The Japanese automaker faced setbacks in trying to hit its emissions targets and this caused the delay, but now it seems to not be satisfied with performance so this could cause further setbacks.
According to Jim O’Sullivan, Mazda’s North American CEO, “We’re still very much committed to diesel. We are still working on getting the performance aspects up to where we want them, and we do have a plan — an engineering road map — to get it done.”
We don’t know why they would cite performance as a reason, since the 175PS 2.2-liter diesel they have in Europe is actually already quite brisk (and flat out fast) and enjoyable to drive. Maybe the extra emissions treatment system it’s had to be fitted with to meet US regulations has dulled the experience.
O’Sullivan also said he thinks “there’s still a huge business case for clean diesel here in North America, being still the only Asian brand that’s talking about bringing it in.” He didn’t guesstimate as to when the 6 diesel will be ready, though, but it can’t be any further than 2015 – that’s already two years off-course and by then the Germans will be ahead of them in terms of power, once they bring their new ridiculously powerful 2.0-liter TDIs to the States.
Photos: Zac Estrada/Carscoops, Via AutoNews
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