Mazda has officially relaunched rotary engine development once more, six years after the automaker assimilated rotary engineers into its broad-spectrum engine development program. Following last year's European launch of the Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV with a rotary range-extender (the first production rotary in 11 years, following the RX-8 ceasing production in 2012) and the tantalizing Mazda Iconic SP Concept, Mazda received so much positivity towards rotary engines that it decided to invest in them once more.
For the time being, the RE Development Group will be tasked with engineering rotary engines as generators - whether as range extenders or as in the Iconic SP, generating power more efficiently for electric motors, combining the benefits of EVs without the mass associated with heavy battery packs.
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