2025 Mazda2 Hatchback Expected With Cute Design and Rotary Engine

According to a report from Japanese media, the all-new Mazda2 will be unveiled in Japan during the fall of 2024, so we’re just months away from enjoying a new iteration of the subcompact. It will have a cute, rounded design and may be powered by a rotary-based hybrid system when it hits the market in 2025.

This report is from the Japanese scoop website Best Car Web, which has accurately predicted other Mazda products in the past. More recently, they claim a RWD Mazda6 is also on its way, and may have a 2.5-liter plug-in hybrid drive. Although Mazda has been focusing on premium crossovers, the Mazda2 plays an important part as their entry-level mass-market car.

The North American version of the Mazda2 was launched in July 2010 with a 100 horsepower 1.5-liter and was discontinued just 5 years later. It survived a bit longer under the guise of the Toyota Yaris sedan. However, this Japanese subcompact wasn’t popular, even compared to the Ford Fiesta.

This all-new Mazda2 will not be offered in America, but it may play an important part in Asia and Europe. According to Best Car, Mazda will adopt the platform of the 3rd-gen hatchback, which was launched in 2014. However, various modifications will increase the structural rigidity of the chassis.

A substantial technological leap will be made. Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control system will give the new Mazda2 a dynamic edge over the few rivals it has left. The transmission, suspension, and engines will reflect the jinba ittai engineering philosophy.

Although the tech will be advanced, its design will be cute and rounded. As you can see from these preview renderings, the Mazda2’s headlights appear round, and its body appears adorable yet practical. It very much looks like a car for the Japanese market. We think it echoes the very earliest Mazdas, such as the tiny R360 and Carol P360 Coupe from the 60s, maybe even the Cosmo Sport.

A tiny rotary engine for the Mazda2

Mazda used to be famous for its high-revving rotary engines, which are making a comeback. The Mazda2 is rumored to be equipped with what the automaker calls an “e-Skyactiv R-EV”, which is a unique plug-in hybrid setup.

It’s already been fitted to the MX-30 R-EV that entered production last year. There, the vehicle is powered by a 170 hp electric motor and the single rotor produces 75 hp. But it only produces electricity, like an onboard generator.

Besides the limited EV range (85 km or 52 miles), the MX-30 R-EV is also quite expensive, equivalent to around $38,000 in the UK. Even when scaled down to the Mazda2, such a powertrain will be quite expensive.

So the 2025 Mazda2 should also have more conventional configurations. Namely, the 1.8-liter diesel will be joined by a revised 1.5-liter, which may have Skyactiv-X technology, at least according to this source. We’d take this information with a grain of salt considering Mazda hasn’t sold many 3s with the new “X” gasoline spark ignition. Like most cars sold in Japan, the new Mazda2 should also have the option for AWD and automatic gearboxes.

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