Mazda unveils new 'fuel efficient' combustion engine

Japanese car maker Mazda said it had developed a new spark plug-free internal combustion engine that would improve fuel efficiency by 30%.

At a time when more car makers are moving towards electric vehicles, Mazda said the petrol compression engine would be installed in its models by 2019.

The company's head of research and development Kiyoshi Fujiwara said it was “imperative and fundamental” for Mazda to pursue the "ideal internal combustion engine".

"Electrification is necessary but... the internal combustion engine should come first," he said.

Mazda said the fuel-air mixture ignites spontaneously when compressed by the piston in the new engine. Known as 'Skyactiv-X', it said the technology combined the advantages of petrol and diesel engines to improve efficiency.

The UK government said last month it would ban the sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 as concerns grow of the impact on public health of diesel vehicles that produce nitrogen oxide.

The previous pose a major risk to public health, putting an end date on the life expectancy of traditional combustion-engine powered vehicles.

There was a sharp spike in the sale of diesel vehicles during the last Labour government which encouraged drivers to switch in order to cut carbon emissions from petrol vehicles that produced greenhouse gases.

Volvo also recently announced all its new cars would be built with electric or hybrid engines from 2019.