No Mazda MX-30 R-EV for Australia

The long-awaited 2023 Mazda MX-30 Skyactiv R-EV is “not a priority” for Mazda Australia, according to the company’s managing director Vinesh Bhindi.

But the ‘niche’ MX-30 mild-hybrid and electric small SUV on which the newly-revealed plug-in rotary range-extender version is based has made a major contribution locally beyond its meagre sales.

Speaking to carsales at the debut of the 2024 Mazda CX-90, Bhindi said: “MX-30, it’s called MX because it’s a niche offering – it’s not our priority to add a third powertrain or technology for a niche model at this stage.

“For 2023 our focus is on launching CX-60, CX-90 and particularly the plug-in hybrid technology for CX-60.”

According to Bhindi, it’s this latter introduction that proves the MX-30’s worth in the local market. The quirky small SUV, with its coupe styling, unusual interior materials and rear-opening ‘coach doors’ has struggled to find buyers in Australia, with just 1752 examples registered over the past two years (2021-22).

This is a fraction of Mazda’s other small SUVs, the CX-3 (24,780 sales) and CX-30 (27,200), and only marginally ahead of the MX-5 sports car (1239).

The vast majority of MX-30s sold have also been electrified M Hybrid variants, with only about 100 examples of the all-electric version initially made available locally.

The battery-powered version is hampered by its low range (224km ADR) and high price ($65,490 +ORCs), with dealers offering heavy discounts in an attempt to move stock.

However, according to Bhindi, the slow sales are not a surprise and don’t illustrate the niche model’s true worth as it has helped prepare the business for its next generation of electrified vehicles.

“[Take-up] was as expected,” he said. “We said it was going to be a niche offering, but what it’s done for us is it’s given us experience with a technology that we didn’t have before. It’s allowed us to train our dealer network – technicians in particularly – on that technology. It’s allowed us to roll out the infrastructure of charging within our network.

“Now Mazda has publicly declared from 2025 to 2030 their rollout of pure battery EV products, we’re ready for it. So that was one of the motivation, it was a precursor to get people ready for plug-in hybrid [SUVs].”

The Mazda MX-30 R-EV uses an electric motor to drive the front wheels, but its 17.8kWh battery pack is able to be replenished by an 883cc rotary engine for up to 640km of range thanks to its 50-litre fuel tank.

In comparison, the MX-30 Electric has a 35.5kWh battery pack that needs charging after around 200km.

In contrast, Mazda’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) CX-60 and CX-90 models use a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and/or electric motor to drive the wheels, the former supplied by a 50-litre fuel tank and the latter a 17.8kWh battery pack offering up to 76km of zero-emissions driving.

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