Can It Be? Mazda's Long-awaited CX-5 Diesel Gets California Green Light

We’ve been talking about the Mazda CX-5 diesel for a long time, and with good reason. It’s been a long time coming. Originally promised for a U.S. introduction in the second half of 2017, a quick scan of of Mazda’s consumer website reveals no mention of a popular compact crossover with a 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D four-cylinder under the hood.

This could soon change. The California Air Resources Board has certified the engine for sale in that ecologically sensitive state, making a similar thumbs up from the Environmental Protection Agency a near certainty.

The news, which should provide much-needed hope and reassurance for lovers of Kodo-bodied diesels, comes by way of Green Car Reports. A reader provided a copy of the engine’s April 13th certification document, which gives Mazda the ability to start selling it in the Golden State.

More likely, though, the automaker wants a nationwide launch, in which case it first needs to get the green light from the EPA. That certification process has reportedly not yet begun, and Mazda isn’t able to provide an educated guess on when we’ll finally get our hands on what promises to be a very fuel efficient crossover. As an automaker with no hybrid or electric vehicles, the diesel’s promised “hybrid-like” fuel economy would go a long way towards satisfying environmental regulators.

So far, there’s no EPA fuel economy rating for the CX-5 diesel.

Mazda, as you know, loves the internal combustion engine. The brand’s next step in meeting corporate average fuel economy targets involves the variable compression Skyactiv-X engine, appears next year in the new Mazda 3.

Mazda seemed pretty bullish on the diesel’s U.S. future (at least, they did a year ago), speculating that 10 percent of CX-5 sales could come from the Skyactiv-D model. A tall order, for sure. The CX-5 is by far the brand’s best-selling U.S. model, moving some 16,138 units in March. That tally represents a 90.5 percent year-over-year sales increase, and volume over the first three months of 2018 show a 75.7 percent uptick over the same period last year.

Suffice it to say, the CX-5 is Mazda’s meal ticket. It remains to be seen whether the addition of an oil burner makes the model even more appetizing to buyers.

[Image: Mazda]