Mazda

The Japanese company whose slogan is “zoom zoom” has tended to zag when competitors like Honda and Toyota have zigged, and as of July 2014 has no hybrids or EVs. But before you think to adopt an attitude over this apparently recalcitrant player, Mazda tends to have a high average mpg score across its lineup and has no real gas guzzlers or trucks to pull it down. As such, without electrification, it topped the EPA’s 2013 most fuel efficient manufacturer list over 10 other automakers. Mazda credits it’s “biggest R&D program ever,” as “SKYACTIV” technology, defined as “a blanket term for Mazda’s innovative new-generation technologies that are being developed under the company’s long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom,” says the automaker. In other quarters, spy photos have surfaced of potential hybridization in recent years, and a plug-in Mazda2 possibly using a rotary range extender appears possible. The company also is looking at diesel, but will likely include electrification sooner or later.