On October 27, 2017 Senior managing executive officer and R&D Chief Kiyoshi Fujiwara told journalists that they were still working on a rotary engine for a sports car, that will potentially in some markets be with hybrid drivetrains, but both will have distinct powertrains from Mazda's first EV, which will be released in 2019/20. "...some cities will ban combustion, therefore we need some additional portion of electrification because the driver can’t use this rotary sports car. Some of the regions we don’t need this small electrification, therefore we can utilise pure rotary engines."