Tokyo: Mazda Motor Corp. is drawing particular attention at the Japan Mobility Show with its unique lineup of exhibits, while other automakers are racing to showcase electric vehicles and related technologies at the closely watched event formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show.

No all-electric vehicle is among the items on display by the Japanese automaker at the event, which opened Thursday at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in the Japanese capital’s Koto Ward.

#ジャパンモビリティショー 現地レポート🚗
にお付き合いいただきありがとうございました！

本日行われたプレスカンファレンスやブースの様子について、MAZDA BLOGで動画とともに速報をお届けしています。

ぜひこちらからご覧ください🔽https://t.co/fG5yh0tmUC https://t.co/jTrgcC6kFP pic.twitter.com/0TMRZqYSPc

— マツダ株式会社 (@Mazda_PR) October 25, 2023

Instead, Mazda is focusing on sports car models by, for example, premiering a prototype of the Mazda Iconic SP plug-in hybrid compact sports car, which uses a power generator converted from the company’s original high-output rotary engine. Also being showcased are old and new models of its signature Roadster sports car.

“We want to ask consumers if a new-era compact sports car powered by a rotary engine and a battery will thrill them,” Mazda President Masahiro Moro said, showing his confidence in launching mass production of the Mazda Iconic SP, which the company says will give drivers the fun of driving, while electrification is increasingly taking the center stage in the global automobile industry.

Besides Mazda, Honda Motor Co. unveiled a hybrid prototype of its classic Prelude sports car. The original Prelude was a gasoline model whose sales ended in 2001. Honda aims to roll out the revived two-door Prelude hybrid in the mid-2020s.

“Toward the full-scale electrification era, (the revived vehicle) will be a ‘prelude’ of new models to come that embody Honda’s unwavering ‘sports mindset,'” Honda President Toshihiro Mibe said.

JIJI Press