According to Mazda’s head of research and development, Seita Kanai, Mazda is studying diesel engines for the U.S. market. Kanai said that Mazda is currently testing diesel prototypes on U.S. soil but Mazda would need a minimum annual volume of 10,000 U.S. sales to make a profitable retail case, reports Automotive News.

“As an engineer, ideally I would want to introduce diesels, but I am not sure if it makes a business case,” Kanai said. He did not say which diesel models Mazda is testing.

None of Mazda’s existing diesel models are mated to an automatic transmission, something that is seen as necessary for the U.S. market.

At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda unveiled its new SKY-D clean diesel engine that incorporates piezo injectors, a two-stage turbocharger and other technologies to get 20 percent better fuel-economy than the current Mazda 2.2L diesel. It allows Mazda2 like fuel-economy in a vehicle the size of the Mazda6.

- By: Kap Shah