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The Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV (hereinafter referred to as "MX-30 extended range") was officially unveiled during the 2023 Brussels Motor Show on January 13 local time. The MX-30 extended range version is based on the fuel version of MX-30 and will be equipped with a hybrid system consisting of rotor engines, motors and battery packs. Among them, the rotor engine will not directly drive the vehicle and will only be used as a generator, and the drive of the vehicle will be completely handed over to the motor. According to Mazda, the price of the extended version of MX-30 in the European market is the same as that of the pure electric version of MX-30, both at 35990 euros, which will be officially launched in March.

It can be said that the rotor engine has become a label of Mazda. The data show that the rotor engine was invented by the German engineer Felix Wankel (1902-1988). The rotor engine uses triangular rotor rotation to control compression and emissions. Compared with the traditional reciprocating piston engine, the rotor engine has an advantage in volume, weight and ride comfort because of its simple structure.

Mazda obtained the research and development license of rotor engine in 1961 and formally established the "rotor Research Department" in 1963. It is worth noting that this technology license was a "big bet" on Mazda at that time. Historical data show that Mazda paid a technology license fee of up to 280 million yen to NSU, and the terms also included details such as the provision of patent rights and technology royalties. In the following more than a decade, Mazda was the only one of the manufacturers that acquired the right to use rotor technology to stand out by virtue of its excellent reliability in the racing environment. Mazda 787B Racing with R26B four-rotor engine became the first Asian carmaker to win the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 1991. In terms of civilian cars, Mazda's sports cars RX-7 and RX- are still talked about by fans today.

However, due to the structural characteristics of the rotor engine (incomplete combustion, emissions and high fuel consumption caused by poor sealing, combustion chamber shape problems, etc.), Mazda stopped the production of rotor engine models in 2012, and RX-8 became the last model with rotor engines and officially announced its withdrawal from the market. Since then, despite repeated rumors of rotor engine successor models, Mazda has never really put the model with rotor engine on the market.

In 2017, Mazda applied to register a technical document for a rotor extended-range hybrid system. The data show that the rotor extended range hybrid power system is the front layout, the motor is arranged in the front axle, the battery pack is arranged in the middle of the chassis, while the internal combustion engine, generator, fuel tank and inverter are arranged in the rear position of the car body. The extended range hybrid power system is driven by battery and motor, and the rotor engine is not involved in the work. When the power of the battery pack is low, the rotor engine will start and drive the generator to generate electricity, and then store the power into the battery pack through the inverter.

In 2020, it was exposed that MX-30 will be equipped with an extended range hybrid system powered by a rotor engine, so as to realize the return of the rotor engine. It is understood that the MX-30 is Mazda's first pure tram, officially launched in Japan in October 2020, positioning compact SUV, two-wheel drive car starting price of 2.42 million yen, four-wheel drive starting price of 2.6565 million yen.

MX-30 is different from other Mazda models in that the front face partially removes Mazda's iconic large-size shield forward grille, leaving only a small-size intake grille. On the side of the body, the special "free door" design is a highlight of the car, similar to RX-8 's B-pillar-free design. From the rear point of view, the overall design style is simple and fashionable, the black roof and the lower part echo each other, and the taillights are lit with a family iconic style. In terms of size, the length, width and height of MX-30 are 4395/1795/1550mm and the wheelbase is 2655mm.

In terms of interior decoration, the new car is designed with a left steering car, equipped with a three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, and a floating central control screen is designed above the center console. In addition, the car also uses an electronic lever, which is also provided with a multimedia screen in front of the handle, and a knob-type multimedia control mechanism behind the handle.

In terms of power, the MX-30 will be equipped with a pure electric powertrain of e-SKYACTIV, a motor with a maximum power of 143hp and a maximum torque of 265Nm, and a battery pack of 35.5kWh that will exceed the 200km in mileage.

As an extended version of MX-30, its appearance and design are basically the same. However, the new car has its own details different from the MX-30 EV, and the MX-30 extended version has an exclusive logo representing the rotor extender on the front wing and a "e-SKYACTIV R-EV" nameplate on the tail. In addition, the MX-30 extended version also offers an Edition R limited edition model, where R stands for Return, implying that the rotor engine is turned on again. As the exclusive design of the car, its appearance adopts brown-red roof color matching, and provides an exclusive logo representing the rotor extender in the areas such as head pillows and foot mats.

In terms of power, the MX-30 extended range version is equipped with a 50L fuel tank and a 17.8kWh battery pack. In the pure electric mode, the mileage of the WLTP is 85km, and in the engine intervention mode, the mileage of the vehicle can reach more than 600km.

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