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".

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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