Mazda has officially announced that it will discontinue the all-electric MX-30 in the US after the 2023 model year. If you are counting, that’s just two model years that the MX-30 was available in the US, and that’s not surprising considering its high price and low range. While the MX-30 has met its demise in the US, it will live on in Canada.
Mazda fans were excited back in April 2021 when the Japanese automaker announced their first all-electric vehicle was coming to Canada and the US (but only California). That excitement quickly turned to disappointment when the underwhelming specs for the MX-30 were released – 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack, 144 horsepower and 200lb-ft of torque, 0-60mph time of 9.7 seconds, and top speed of 140km/h (87 mph). To top it all off, the 35.5kWh battery pack provided for just 161km (100 miles) of range. Adding insult to injury was the price, starting at $42,150 CAD ($33,470 USD).
All of that combined for extremely low sales, with just 55 units sold in Canada and the US in the first month it was available. That trend has continued to this day, with Mazda Canada reporting 47 sales in June 2023, for a grand total of 314 units sold in the first six months of the year (that’s a 20.5% drop from 2022).
The situation was even worse in the US. As noted the MX-30 is only available in California, a state which is dominated by Tesla, resulting in just 66 units selling through June. Those low numbers ultimately led to Mazda deciding to kill it off in the US. However in a statement to Drive Tesla, Mazda Canada confirmed the 2024 MX-30 will be available north of the border, while also continuing to be sold in Europe and Japan.
There was hope earlier this year that Mazda was going to up the range of the MX-30 with a new model. While they did do that, it was not with an improved electric powertrain, but instead making it plug-in hybrid that also has a rotary engine.
