The new generation Mazda3 will use the SkyActiv II engine.

The SkyActiv II engine on the new generation Mazda3 is 30% more efficient than gasoline engines of the same capacity.

Recent leaks suggest that Mazda has made a leap forward in internal combustion engines. Motoring writes that the Japanese automaker is preparing to launch an engine incorporating HCCI technology. Mazda will officially announce the information at a technology conference in Frankfurt at the end of August.

Sketch of the new generation Mazda3. Photo: Motoring.

HCCI technology enables gasoline engines to operate like diesel engines, by compressing the air and fuel mixture in the combustion chamber until it self-ignites.

Of course, the engine still has spark plugs, but only works at low rpm, and HCCI works at higher rpm. This engine will be called SkyActiv II.

Mazda says the SkyActiv II engine can be 30% more efficient than a gasoline engine of the same capacity. If the announcement is true, the fuel economy of the Mazda3 will be about 30 km/liter.

The SkyActiv II engine will first appear in the next-generation Mazda3, and then expand to other models. In a 2014 interview, the Japanese automaker also announced that it would introduce a new engine to meet emissions standards, increase the compression ratio to 18:1 and be 30% more efficient.

When HCCI technology becomes practical, Mazda will become the first manufacturer to use HCCI technology in a commercial vehicle. General Motors previously tested this technology in 2007 but quickly withdrew.

According to Zing