Why Is Anyone Buying the Mazda MX-30 EV?
It’s a puzzle that has vexed auto scribes since being introduced in 2020, “Why is anyone buying a Mazda MX-30 EV?” The question is relevant due to its advertised range of 100 miles. That lack of range, combined with its MSRP of almost $34,000, makes it an outlier in the electric car segment. In spite of these handicaps, there are buyers for them. In fact, last month Mazda sold eight of them. Just eight.
How many Mazda MX-30 EVs have sold in 2022?
That adds to the 2022 tally of 324 MX-30s sold so far. By the end of the year, we expect that number to increase, in all likelihood, to 400. So what is it that compels the EV-curious to plunk down good money for a vehicle that has the lowest range, yet costs more than its Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf counterparts (before EV incentives)? And lest we forget, both of them have more than double the MX-30’s range.
Remember the Mitsubishi MiEV bubble car? By 2012, when it began selling in the U.S., it had a range of just 62 miles. So it begs the question, was it Mazda’s benchmark when developing the MX-30? From that perspective, Mazda almost doubled the MiEV’s range. But this is over 10 years later.
Does Mazda still make the MX-30?
The good news for Mazda is that it is selling a vehicle it no longer makes. There is a hybrid version, but the all-electric 2022 MX-30 is supposedly “sold out.” That may be due in part to it being a “peppy city car with performance that is competitive and plenty of fun.” Those are Mazda’s words, not ours.
The other thing that is surely hindering sales is that it is only, or was only, available in California. It was supposed to be rolled out to other states, but that must not have ever happened. We can only guess that its price and range may have had something to do with that.
From a styling perspective, we like it. It is a clean design with that sporty, pillarless top. And we like the emphasis on the square wheel openings and two-tone breakup overall. We also like the pseudo-two-door looks. Had the Nissan Murano convertible been successful, we could see an MX-30 version looking a lot better. Probably for the better, that trend never gained traction.
How much is the MX-30 after tax incentives?
As for EV tax incentives, the MX-30 is eligible for a $7,500 federal electric car tax incentive. So that knocks the price down to $25,970. The base price for a 2022 Nissan Leaf is $27,400. For the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, it’s $27,200, with 250 miles of range. With a Hyundai Kona EV, you get 258 miles of driving range for $26,500.
So after incentives, the MX-30 barely becomes the cheapest EV on the market. And range anxiety, what’s that worth?
