Mazda’s CEO Akira Marumoto has confirmed that the company’s signature rotary engine will be hitting the market by 2022, along with a plug-in hybrid engine.

News of the return of the rotary plus introduction of plug-in hybrid engine are not new. We have already covered it in November 2020 but this is the first time Mazda has given a timeline for the plug-in hybrid's market launch.

Mazda didn’t reveal any further details but said that the rotary engine (RE) will be used as part of the company’s ‘multi-electrification technology,’ which we believe is simply a range-extender engine to charge battery electric vehicles (BEV).

Mazda is committed to electrify its entire product range by 2030.

Also read: Let's take a look at Mazda’s electrified rotary engine, launching in 2022

Currently, Mazda only has one BEV model in its line-up, the Mazda MX-30 EV, which was launched in its home market in Japan just last month.

Power comes from a 35.5 kWh Li-ion traction battery driving the 107 kW (145 PS)/270 Nm electric motor. It has a driving range of 256 km (WLTP cycle).

Prices start from 4.51 million Yen. For reference, a regular MX-30 with a 2.0-litre combustion engine is priced from 2.42 million Yen. A mild-hybrid version has also been announced but it is yet to go on sale.