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Mazda's first profit in five years in sight due to weak yen

Automotive News reports Mazda is set to turn a profit for the first time in five years. The automaker is more dependent on exports from Japan than other automakers based in that country, and as a result, it has long suffered at the hands of a strong yen. But the currency has declined in value by some 16 percent over the past six months and Mazda's shares have tripled in value to their highest level since 2008. Contrast this situation to a year ago when Mazda printed 1.22 billion new shares to raise cash. The move was equivalent to 70 percent of the company's then-outstanding stock, and values tumbled to record lows as a result.
Now that the yen has fallen to a value of around 96 per dollar, Mazda operations in the US are more profitable and the company now projects it will earn around $279 million for the next fiscal year. Automotive News says a one yen change against the dollar can have a 9.1 percent impact on Mazda operating profit compared to 4.7 percent at Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries or 3.1 percent at Toyota. Those automakers better insulate themselves from currency fluctuations with overseas manufacturing facilities.

Recharge Wrap-up: BlaBlaCar raises $100M, NASA launches CO2 satellite

BlaBlaCar, a ridesharing startup in Europe, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures. After recently growing to 12 countries and 8 million users, BlaBlaCar plans to us the funding for even more aggressive growth throughout Europe. The ridesharing service pairs drivers and passengers, allowing passengers to catch rides between cities while allowing drivers to save money on fuel on road trips. Drivers are not allowed to make a profit, and are only allowed to charge enough to break even after BlaBlaCar takes its percentage, to keep costs low for everyone involved. BlaBlaCar doesn't currently have plans to break into the US. Read more at The New York Times or at Gigaom. NASA has launched its Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 into space to keep track of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. After being delayed on Tuesday, the Delta II rocket equipped with an instrument to measure CO2 launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 5:56 am on Wednesday. It is ultimately headed for a polar orbit to watch how CO2 levels rise and fall throughout the seasons, in part to try to figure out if the land and oceans will continue to be able to absorb half of carbon emissions. The mission will last two years, and should give further insight into climate change. Learn more in the video below, at NASA or at New York Times. Mazda is likely to release a plug-in version of its Mazda2 hatchback with a rotary range extender, reports Australian site Motoring. The electrified Mazda2, and any other future Mazda EVs and hybrids, will likely be limited to markets with government subsidies for such vehicles (which doesn't include Australia) says Mazda Australia Managing Director Martin Benders. "As the best possible fuel economy at an affordable price hybrid doesn't make sense, because the fuel economy gain isn't that great unless half of all sales are hybrid, which won't happen without big tax breaks like in the Netherlands," said Benders. That doesn't rule out the US, though. A prototype version of the range-extended Mazda2 featured a 0.33-liter rotary engine to provide power to the lithium-ion battery pack when depleted. A 2.6-gallon gas tank essentially doubled the electric Mazda2's driving range to 250 miles. Read more at Motoring. Zap plans on selling 1,000 Urbee EVs per month to SunRa for distribution in China.

New Mazda3 looks just like Mazda Kai concept in spy photos

Just a couple of weeks before the official reveal, one of our spy photographers caught the next-generation Mazda3 out testing in minimal camouflage. The car was a hatchback model, testing alongside a VW Golf and Audi A3, and was only wrapped in thin vinyl. As a result, we can clearly see that the new compact Mazda hatchback looks just like the stunning Kai concept from last year's Tokyo Motor Show. The car features effectively the same nose and profile of the concept. The main grille is larger than the current model, and it leans forward aggressively. The windshield is very low and sleek. The rear portion of the car is dominated by the very thick C-pillar that leans far forward, augmenting the car's athletic stance. The window sill at the rear kicks up sharply, and the rear window doesn't wrap around or bulge out, giving the car a very tight, taut shape. It's not just the outside of the 3 we get to see. We get a good look at the interior. It also looks very much like the Kai's interior, with the focus being the driver. The gauges are flanked by air vents that blend into the shape of the instrument binnacle. The rest of the dashboard is left as uncluttered as possible. The climate controls and vents all reside in the same long horizontal plane. The infotainment screen, which appears to be touch-sensitive based on one spy photo, is canted toward the driver. Mazda's rotary controller does return, as seen in the center console. Also in the center console is the manual shift knob, which we expect, or at least hope, will continue to be available in the U.S. We'll have answers to all our questions about the Mazda3 at the end of this month when it makes its debut at the L.A. Auto Show. We'll also see the sedan version of the car. The powertrain is the biggest mystery at the moment. Mazda showed the Kai with the Skyactiv-X engine, Mazda's spark-controlled compression-ignition gasoline engine. We've driven a development car with the engine, and Mazda seemed to intend the new Mazda3 to use it, but we're not sure if the engine will be ready for the car's launch. If not the Skyactiv-X engine, or perhaps in addition to, Mazda will probably use versions of its current engines. It could carry-over the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter four-cylinders currently used. The latter may use the cylinder deactivation now used on the Mazda6 and CX-5. We would love to see the company finally offer the turbocharged 2.5-liter engine from the Mazda6, CX-9, and now CX-5.