IRVINE, CA – Japanese automaker Mazda announced late last week their decision to discontinue selling electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States amid the current intense competition and market dominance exhibited by South African tech tycoon Elon Musk’s Tesla, Inc.
The EV industry has grown increasingly cutthroat overall as more and more automakers have been revealing, producing, upgrading, and selling new models on a seemingly daily basis.
However, Tesla is leading the pack, recently setting a record in first half of 2023 by delivering 889,000 EVs through June 30. In addition, the company’s Model Y sports utility vehicle was the world’s best-selling automobile – electric or gas-powered – during the first quarter of this year, selling 267,200 models; this put Toyota firmly in both second and third place in terms of worldwide sales, with 256,400 Corollas and 214,700 RAV4s sold during the same period of time.
In contrast, Mazda has faced an uphill battle ever since they first began production of the company’s first all-electric vehicle – the MX-30 sports utility vehicle – in May 2020. The vehicle was already at a disadvantage out of the gate with an anemic range of only approximately 100 miles, and after it was introduced in the U.S. market in 2021 – initially only offered in limited capacity in California – its sales figures have remained decisively limp. In 2021 it only sold 116 models, followed by 324 in 2022 and 66 in the first half of 2023.
Mazda announced that they will discontinue their electric vehicle sales in the U.S. market following the 2023 model year; however, the company will continue to sell the MX-30 EV in Europe and Japan, where it has enjoyed slightly better sales numbers despite the model’s technological disadvantages.
Instead, Mazda will be focusing on plug-in hybrid EVs for the U.S. market; according to a July 28 statement, these models will include the 2024 CX-90 PHEV, the upcoming CX-70 PHEV, and a new CX-50 Hybrid.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.