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Mazda Delivers First Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to Iwatani Corporation


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Hiroshima, May 26, 2009; Mazda Motor Corporation today delivered the first Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to Iwatani Corporation, an energy development company based in Japan. The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is Mazda's latest hydrogen rotary engine (RE) vehicle which uses hydrogen as a fuel and features a unique hybrid system.

The Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid can run on both hydrogen and gasoline thanks to a dual-fuel system that was developed for the current RX-8 Hydrogen RE. The addition of a new hybrid system significantly enhances the vehicle's performance and contributes to its increased hydrogen fuel range of 200 kilometers; double that of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE.

The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is the second hydrogen rotary engine vehicle to be leased to Iwatani Corporation, following an RX-8 Hydrogen RE that was delivered in March 2006. The new model will be used for business purposes at the company's offices in Western Japan, before being located at the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project's (JHFC) Kansai Airport Hydrogen Station, where it will be used at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka and for a variety of other purposes.

Akihiro Kashiwagi, Mazda's program manager in charge of hydrogen RE development, said, "Mazda is delighted to deliver our newest hydrogen rotary engine vehicle to Iwatani, which has been engaged in advancing the further uses of hydrogen energy for many years. Mazda will use the feedback we receive from Iwatani to further improve the performance of hydrogen-fueled rotary engine vehicles as we wish to do our part to achieve a hydrogen energy society in the future."

Based on its Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan, Mazda is committed to pursuing harmony between driving pleasure and environmental and safety features. Mazda constantly strives to offer vehicles that "look inviting to drive, are fun to drive, and make you want to drive them again."

Main specifications of the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid
Base model:          Mazda Premacy 
Overall length:      4,565 mm 
Overall width:       1,745 mm 
Overall height:      1,620 mm 
Engine:              Mazda's hydrogen rotary engine (with dual-fuel system) 
Motor:               Alternating current synchronous motor 
Maximum output:      110 kW 
Generator:           Alternating current synchronous generator 
Battery:             Lithium-ion (Li-ion) 
Seating capacity:    Five 
Fuel:                Hydrogen and gasoline 
Hydrogen tank:       35 MPa high-pressure tank 

History of Mazda's hydrogen vehicle development
1991    Developed first hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X 
1992    Conducted test drive of golf cart equipped with fuel cell 
1993    Developed second hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X2
        Developed MX-5 test vehicle equipped with hydrogen rotary engine 
1995    Conducted Japan's first public road tests of a hydrogen rotary 
         engine vehicle, Capella Cargo. 
1997    Developed Demio FC-EV 
2001    Developed Premacy FC-EV, conducted first public road test in Japan 
2003    Announced RX-8 hydrogen rotary engine development 
2004    Received MLIT approval for public road testing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE 
2006    Started commercial leasing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE in Japan 
         (eight models have been delivered to date) 
2007    Signed agreement to provide RX-8 Hydrogen REs to Hynor, a 
         Norwegian national transportation project 
2008    Commenced public road tests in Norway with RX-8 Hydrogen RE 
         validation vehicle 
2009    Commenced commercial leasing of Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid in Japan 
For more information on Mazda's hydrogen rotary engine vehicles, please visit:
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/