Mazda runs biofuel trucks through the Japanese countryside to prove the internal combustion engine still has a future

Summary: Mazda has launched a biofuel trial using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in transport trailers running between its Hofu plant and a vehicle storage yard in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan. The fuel blend is approximately 51 percent HVO alongside conventional diesel, with Mazda covering the additional cost. The trial runs through to the end of 2026 and will evaluate fuel efficiency, performance, and operational challenges in real freight conditions.

The exercise is another expression of Mazda’s multi-pathway decarbonisation position, which deliberately plays down battery EVs in favour of hybrids, PHEVs, biofuels, and synthetic fuels, Automotive World details. Mazda was the first carmaker to join the eFuel Alliance, which lobbies governments to recognise carbon-neutral liquid fuels within emissions legislation. The Nippon Express trial extends the same logic Mazda has already applied in motorsport, where it has run biofuel made from microalgae and used cooking oil in its Spirit Racing endurance cars.

HVO’s fundamental constraint is scale: sustainable feedstock supply is estimated to cover only five to ten percent of global transport energy demand. Mazda’s general manager for carbon neutral strategy, Takeshi Fukagawa, acknowledged the goal plainly: “positioning it as one pathway for sustaining the use of internal combustion engines into the future.”

Brands mentioned: Mazda, Nippon Express, Isuzu, DHL, Deutsche Bahn, XPO Logistics, Suzuki, Toyota

Sources:
• Automotiveworld