Mystery Sustainably-Fuelled Mazda Concept Coming At Tokyo Show

Mazda is probably feeling quite smug at the moment. A few years ago, when nearly every other car company was ploughing ahead with investment in electric cars, it held back, launching only the oddball MX-30 as a self-developed EV. Now, as that investment’s proving to not quite have paid off for those companies, Mazda’s bet-hedging appears to have been quite the sensible move financially.

The company looks to be getting ready to double down on looking into alternatives to an all-electric future, too, as it’s announced its exhibits for this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, anchored around the theme of sustainable and renewable fuels for combustion engines.

The centrepiece of this exhibition will be a new concept, “representing the vision for future Mazda vehicles that symbolises the company’s theme for the exhibition.” It’s given us a peek at said concept, and though it doesn’t give much away, we can make out a four-door silhouette with a sloping fastback roofline.

There’s just a hint of wheelarch too, which seems to confirm that this will be a proper low-slung saloon rather than the jacked-up crossovers we’re used to seeing these days. Excellent.

Of course, all this begs the question: what exactly is this? Purely a design and engineering exercise aimed at showing off Mazda’s future powertrain and styling plans, or a glimpse at an actual production car? If it’s the latter, could it finally be hinting at Mazda’s long-rumoured rear-wheel drive sports saloon, last signalled by 2018's gorgeous Vision Coupe concept, which it’s so far not been able to find enough of a market for?

We’d like to think so, but all will be revealed when the Tokyo Show kicks off on 30 October. Mazda will also be showing off some of the sustainable fuel solutions it’s working on, including a new carbon capture technology and carbon neutral fuel made from algae. All this, it says, is because “Mazda envisions a world that harmonises a sustainable society with uplifting experiences through the joy of driving.” That, we think, is something we can all get behind.