In cooperation with Japan Polypropylene Corporation*1, Mazda has developed a new resin
material for auto parts that can maintain the same level of rigidity as conventional materials while trimming vehicle weight. The new resin enables the manufacture of thinner parts, which results in a significant reduction in the amount of material used; when used for front and rear bumpers, this trims weight by approximately 20%. In the manufacturing process, thinner parts have enabled the shortening of cooling time upon shaping, and in addition, use of CAE analysis technology has enabled optimization of material liquidity, halving the shaping time of bumpers from approximately 60 seconds to 30 seconds. This drastically reduces the amount of energy used in manufacturing.

Mazda intends to use this new-resin bumper, the lightest in its class*2, for the CX-5 and subsequent models.