Most electric cars have waiting lists of between six months and two years in Australia. But a new Mazda with limited driving range has triggered heavy discounting.
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Massive discounts of up to $15,000 – about 20 per cent off recommended retail – have begun appearing on the Mazda MX-30 Electric as buyers appear to be slow to embrace the model with limited driving range and a high price.
The Mazda MX-30 went on sale last year priced between $69,400 and $74,000 drive-away (costs vary from state-to-state based on different stamp duties and registration fees).
Mazda claims the MX-30 has a maximum driving range of between 200km and 224km.
However, real-world testing by Drive has found the battery can run flat after covering less than these distances, giving it about half the range of other electric cars in the same price range.
Mazda Australia only imported 100 examples of the electric-only version of the MX-30 – in 2021 – to sell alongside the petrol-electric hybrid, but they appear to be hard to sell.
Today, about two-dozen examples are on classifieds website Carsales advertised as “demonstrator” models, most with between 200 and 2000km on the odometer.
The cheapest Mazda MX-30 Electric was advertised at $55,990 drive-away – with 900km on the odometer – which is about $15,000 less than the new price.
A number of other examples of “demonstrator” Mazda MX-30 electric models were listed between $59,990 and $62,888 drive-away, a discount of about $10,000 in round numbers.
Mazda’s struggle to sell electric cars as brands such as Tesla and Kia have long waiting times is being seen as an indication that Australian electric-car buyers are baulking high prices for vehicles with modest driving range.
A statement from Mazda Australia said: “(Electric vehicles) remain a very small sales percentage of the overall new car market.
“Representing a key technological milestone, Mazda MX-30 was the first-ever fully electric vehicle produced by Mazda, and the first step in a long-term electrification plan that will be bolstered by the introduction of the all-new Mazda CX-60 plug-in hybrid.
“Sales for the full-electric Mazda MX-30 are in line with Mazda Australia’s projections. A portion of the initial allocation of Mazda MX-30 Electric models remain available, along with some ex-demonstrator models.”
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