Price cut of $6400 impacts immediately

PRICING for Mazda’s sole electric car in the market has been slimmed by $6400, taking it to just under $69,000.

Mazda New Zealand has yet to comment about the realignment, which two dealers in separate locations have confirmed has enacted.

Until now the car has held the $74,990 sticker it launched with 18 months ago. The readjustment takes that to $68,590.

MotoringNZ.com has been told there is no price change for the M-Hybrid model, a lookalike which runs a 2.0-litre petrol engine and prices up to $44,390.

The MX-30 has long sustained criticism of having a lower range than many like-sized and specified fully battery-wed alternates in the sub-$80,000 zone, where the Clean Car rebate applies, yet costing more.

That issues appears to have reflected in the subcompact crossover accounting for just 161 registrations in 2022; well down on other contenders, and mostly in the m-hybrid format.

The price shift comes just a week after Mazda shared information about its third MX-30 variant, a range extender that reprises the use of a rotary engine in a new Mazda and which in its only identified right hand drive market, the United Kingdom, will cost as much as the EV did until now.

Mazda NZ has confirmed that the new R-EV is coming, but indicated that release in not until 2024 – making that an unlikely influence on the EV’s change or circumstances.

On a full charge, the MX-30 R-EV's battery allows a range of up to 85km - compared to the all-electric MX-30's 200-220km range with a 33kWh battery – but when the teensy '8C' rotary acts as an electricity generator, to keeping the battery topped up, Mazda claims a combined range of more than 600km.

Mazda has never shied from the EV edition having a restricted range. It argues most EVs aren’t driven far on a daily basis, so having a large battery is a waste of resource. It has also highlighted the downsides of weight, slow charging time and the carbon-intensive nature of big battery production.