Amid Emissions Clampdown, Brits Face Reduced Access to 34 MPG Mazda

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The roadster news just keeps getting worse for British drivers. As hyper-stringent Euro 6 emission standards come into effect in the new year, drivers in the UK will have a harder time getting their hands on a vehicle we all know and love on this side of the Atlantic.

That vehicle is the Mazda MX-5. Available with a standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder on this side of the pond, Brits can have theirs in two flavors: 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter. Come 2020, the automaker will do its best to dissuade buyers from choosing the larger mill.

Auto Express, following a report in the Financial Times that claimed Mazda will seek to reduce 2.0L sales by 20 percent, drew an admission from the automaker.

“We take a number of factors into consideration — not just the CO2 targets but also customer trends, pricing and currency exchange rates. But it is fair to say, yes, that there will be reduced supply of the 2.0-litre MX-5 in 2020,” a Mazda UK spokesman said.

The fallout for dealers will be a predicted reduction in volume of 13 percent, the publication claims. A greater percentage of remaining MX-5 sales will be of a lower-margin vehicle.

The earlier report stated that Mazda chose to cut back on 2.0L MX-5 sales in order to meet fleetwide emission standards, which impact small, lightweight sports cars in a similar manner as CAFE punishes small cars in the United States. While a 2.0-liter UK-market MX-5 returns a combined 34 mpg, compared to the 37.3 mpg delivered by the wimpier 1.5-liter variant, there’s enough different in CO2 output to earn the larger mill a black mark.

The news comes not long after the MX-5’s cousin, the Fiat 124 Spider, was discontinued in the UK market, spelling less choice for drivers in the birthplace of the Lotus Elan.

As automakers scramble to adjust their lineups to meet Euro 6 standards, expect to hear more stories like this. Is it any wonder why European car builders are rushing so quickly into electric vehicle development? Such models offset the emissions of ICE-powered offerings like the MX-5. Mazda, of course, does not yet sell a single EV or plug-hybrid.

Interestingly, the lowly but fun Mazda 2, which appears before UK buyers without a Toyota badge, welcomes a mild-hybrid variant to the British market for 2020. Everywhere, it’s getting more expensive for automakers to offer consumers a cheap subcompact hatchback.

[Image: Mazda]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • MBella MBella on Dec 19, 2019

    Hopefully now that the UK is leaving the Eco fascists of the EU, they will be able to fix emissions rules to where they work, and don't create this low displacement stupidity.

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    • Conundrum Conundrum on Dec 20, 2019

      @ToddAtlasF1 The BBC is relentless establishment and helped Boris ascend the throne of his own rabid nonsense of self-serving sociopathy and ultra right wing horse manure. You seen that goofball of a right hand man he has -Jacob Rees-Mogg? The name sums up his insufferability. Auntie Beeb crucified Corbyn, along with all the newspapers including the Guardian. En masse, the Brits decided to shoot themselves in their collective feet, and gift the place to the upper class twits. Obviously, you know eff all about the British scene but decided to gift the world with your own brand of bubble and squeak. You need to have a few relatives in Blighty to see how idiocy has overtaken their brave step into the North Atlantic on their lonesome, their ears ringing with stories of past glory and empire. You also need to know a good deal more about how the top BBC management acts with the same establishment mores as the managerial class which has helped the rentiers take over everything while reducing manufacturing, yet keeping useless managers on a high wage to spread the word of the wealthy. There is no real wealth in the place except the rich renting shacks to the poor. It's all financialized with about an inch thick left of industrial output. About like half the USA. The other half appropriates half your national budget and buys weapons to defend against Cossack hordes on horseback or Arabs in rubber dinghies paddling madly across the Atlantic to invade NYC. Boris is a total prune whose only knowledge is Greek and Roman plays, and in real life to file made-up "journalistic" reports to the Telegraph. What a jolly prankster. About modern industry, he knows SFA, which is why he could care less about JIT manufacturing of Nissan, Toyota and BMW. They'll leave rather than p*ss about with a gormless ideocrat. But like all these sweeties of the right who bray at the public claiming this and that, for some reason they believe the man's nonsense, especially as Murdoch is in cahoots, pushing BoJo as a savior for all the Sun newspaper's worth. England is going to drop like a stone, and I'm sad because I was born and spent my first decade there, more than 60 years ago. On visits I've already noted it's tipping of the hat time to jumped up perceived bigwigs. The upper crust enjoys the power of kicking the little man. The Scots aren't going to hang around while the Conservatives reduce the UK to dust, and will get out. So will Northern Ireland who'll join the real country. All that may start an actual civil war. And no doubt you'll continue to spout baseless nonsense on many subjects. You fancy yourself as one of the aristos yourself, I daresay. The BBC is relentlessly promoting the eradication of self-governance? A ha ha ha. When you get simple basic things like that 180 degrees wrong, no wonder you fulminate nonsense on a continual basis. Underinformed and over self -confident - hey, you'd make a fine BoJo yourself. If you like the idea, it's yours.

  • PeriSoft PeriSoft on Dec 19, 2019

    I feel like it might be a bit of a leap from, "Lucas had a bad reputation in the '60s and '70s" to, "I hate and ignore everyone born within these borders".

  • Analoggrotto I hope the walls of Mary Barra's office are covered in crushed velvet.
  • Mikey For 36.4 years i punched the clock at GM Canada.. For the last 15.5 years (frozen at 2008 rates) my GM pension shows up in my account. I flirted with Fords for a couple of years but these days I'm back to GM vehicles and still qualify for employee price. Speaking as a High School drop out ..GM provided myself and family a middle class lifestyle.. And still does .. Sorry if i don't join in to the ever present TTAC ..GM Bash fest
  • Akear Does anyone care how the world's sixth largest carmaker conducts business. Just a quarter century ago GM was the world's top carmaker. [list=1][*]Toyota Group: Sold 10.8 million vehicles, with a growth rate of 4.6%.[/*][*]Volkswagen Group: Achieved 8.8 million sales, growing sharply in America (+16.6%) and Europe (+20.3%).[/*][*]Hyundai-Kia: Reported 7.1 million sales, with surges in America (+7.9%) and Asia (+6.3%).[/*][*]Renault Nissan Alliance: Accumulated 6.9 million sales, balancing struggles in Asia and Africa with growth in the Americas and Europe.[/*][*]Stellantis: Maintained the fifth position with 6.5 million sales, despite substantial losses in Asia.[/*][*]General Motors, Honda Motor, and Ford followed closely with 6.2 million, 4.1 million, and 3.9 million sales, respectively.[/*][/list=1]
  • THX1136 A Mr. J. Sangburg, professional manicurist, rust repairer and 3 times survivor is hoping to get in on the bottom level of this magnificent property. He has designs to open a tea shop and used auto parts store in the facility as soon as there is affordable space available. He has stated, for the record, "You ain't seen anything yet and you probably won't." Always one for understatement, Mr. Sangburg hasn't been forthcoming with any more information at this time. You can follow the any further developments @GotItFiguredOut.net.
  • TheEndlessEnigma And yet government continues to grow....
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