The Mazda MX-30 EV Is Dead and No One’s Really Gonna Miss It
With only 100 miles of range, it’s no wonder why the MX-30 found so few homes.
The Mazda MX-30 is officially dead. If you forgot the MX-30 was even on sale, you're probably not alone. So far this year, Mazda sold a whopping 66 MX-30s, so it's no wonder that it's being discontinued after the 2023 model year.
It's a bit of a surprise it lasted this long. While not exactly a bad car, the Mazda MX-30 wasn't really ever competitive. With only a 32 kWh battery pack, providing just 100 miles of range, and a single front motor with 143 horsepower, the MX-30 seriously lagged behind its all-electric competitors. So it's not much of a wonder why sales were down. Especially when it was priced higher than cars like the Chevy Bolt, which has far more range.
CORRECTION 7/32/23 5:30 PM ET: A previous version of this story mentioned that a CX-50 plug-in hybrid was incoming to the U.S. A Mazda spokesperson clarified to The Drive that the CX-50 will be a traditional hybrid and not a plug-in. This story now reflects that. We apologize for the mistake.
To be fair to Mazda, the MX-30 did seem like it was more of a compliance vehicle. The MX-30 is only available in California and, to sell cars in California, Mazda needs some of them to be electrified. So the MX-30 exists, even though it hasn't been selling well enough to justify such existence.
Mazda has plans for future electrification, though. Its current efforts are focused first on plug-in hybrids, such as the CX-90 PHEV and the soon-to-be CX-70 PHEV and CX-50 Hybrid. Then, Mazda will add some purely electric vehicles toward the middle of the decade.
The Mazda MX-30 will continue to live on past the 2023 model year, just not here in the United States. In Europe, the MX-30 R-EV will continue to be sold with its Wankel rotary engine range extender. While Mazda North America CEO told Automotive News that a U.S.-bound MX-30 R-EV isn't impossible, it seems highly unlikely.
Few, if any, customers are going to miss the Mazda MX-30. It was inefficient, cramped, lacked range, and was too expensive for what it was. However, Mazda is hoping to release some far more competitive electrified vehicles in the near future.
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