No, the Mazda Miata Isn’t Being Discontinued in 2022
If you don’t read past the headlines, a report from today might have you thinking the ND Miata is ending production. It’s not.
In an era of vanishing cheap sports cars and seemingly inevitable electrification, the Mazda MX-5 Miata is starting to look like something of a dinosaur. (In some very literal ways; it's an impractical form of transit, but it's a lotta fun to ride in public with a cowboy hat on.) It's not an EV, it's not a hybrid, it's not even turbocharged, and it delivers a delightfully old-school driving experience. As such, its cancellation is starting to seem believable, and in fact, you might've seen a story or two today about how the current-gen ND Miata is finally dying this year. The Drive is happy to report that isn't the case—we confirmed with Mazda that there will be a 2022 Miata, and it'll still be an ND.
Rumors of the MX-5's discontinuation are rooted in Mazda Japan's product page for the MX-5, which features a blurb whose rough English translation reads, "Sales of the current model have been discontinued. The announcement of the new model is scheduled for this winter."
Taken literally, that sounds like there's a new model on the way, or at the very least a heavy mid-cycle refresh. That's the angle CarBuzz took today when it published a speculative story with a wildly misleading headline: "Say Goodbye To The Mazda MX-5 Miata."
Now, there is some credence to the idea that the ND could be getting a heavy late-cycle refresh; its first round of updates arrived three years after launch for the 2019 model in 2018, and it's been three years since then. Another update could extend the ND's shelf life until Mazda can ready an electrified replacement, which without a doubt is coming. So we asked Mazda, and its response was unequivocal: the ND Miata will be back next year.
"[There's] probably a little lost in translation," a Mazda spokesperson told us regarding the blurb on the JDM site. "The current model year sales have ended in their market and they are getting the next model year in the winter. So 2021 to 2022. Still the ND. We’ll have an update for the 2022 MX-5 in the US in a couple of weeks too."
Pressed further about the end of production for the ND, they added: "There are no plans to stop production of the current generation MX-5 (ND)."
In other words: No, you don't have to say goodbye to the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Not that that makes a difference to the sizable demographic that doesn't read past headlines.
They say a lie gets halfway 'round the world before the truth gets its pants on. So all we can do is reiterate what we know now: the Mazda Miata is not going away next year. And that's good news for everyone who loves to drive.
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