Only in Canada?.The Great White North will be the only place in North America to get a 2024 Mazda MX-30 EV after the automaker discontinued the quirky SUV after selling just 66 units south of the border..That’s because the Japanese automaker — formerly owned by Ford — pulled the plug on the 2023 model after selling just 16 of the high-priced cars for all of June..The MX-30 was only available stateside in California, ostensibly to lower the emissions profile of the manufacturer’s overall fleet to help it meet the state’s onerous emissions rules..The MX-30 is unique in that it uses Mazda’s proprietary Wankel rotary engine to generate electricity, not to power the wheels. Although Mazda has a plug-in hybrid version, it isn’t available in the US. .It was the company’s first attempt at an all-electric vehicle in the US market..However, it's not the first time the MX-30 was cancelled in the US. The 2022 model was discontinued after selling 505 cars, just short of its modest goal of 560 units..According to Driving.ca, it just didn’t find traction among buyers who found it expensive with a short driving range of just 161 kilometers per charge. The starting price in Canada was almost $43,000 before incentives..Writes reviewer Jay Kana: “The MX-30 was a proof-of-concept car meant to see if the brand’s EV architecture was scaleable, and while I’m sure there was some good info or analytics returned to Mazda, it simply wasn’t a practical vehicle for our southern neighbours."."That being said, it’s not exactly practical here, either, unless you’re in a heavy populated urban area with charging stations where you live, and you’re a very occasional driver.”.Added Motor Trend: “Throw in some inclement weather, and hills, and the MX-30 is a vehicle that you wouldn't want to stray far from a fast-charger.“.It comes after its former parent company, Ford, said it expects its own EV division, Model e, to lose US$4.5 billion this year on top of a cumulative US$6 billion in losses since 2021..“The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “The shift to powerful digital experiences and breakthrough EVs is underway and going to be volatile.”.Last December, the Liberal government mandated that 100% of vehicles sold in Canada be zero emission by 2035 and 60% by 2030. Although EV sales were up just shy of 10% last year, economists expect that number to stall amid inflationary and recession fears.."The market still has a long way to go in meeting the federal interim sales target of EVs accounting for at least 20%," Scotiabank economist John Fanjoy wrote in a research report.."As Canadians deal with high interest rates and still high inflation at the margins, the decision to purchase an EV over the alternative of buying a gas car, which is cheaper on average, or put off the purchase altogether, may pose headwinds to EV sales in the near term.".British Columbia leads the way in EV sales with about 20% of all electric car sales in the country, followed by Quebec’s 13.9% share of the market which is supported by lavish incentives of up to $7,000 on top of the federal government’s $5,000 rebate.
