Local production should start around 2028.
Mazda currently has two factories in North America.
Mazda’s next EVs should show up before 2028.
Mazda understands it is lagging when it comes to electrification. And the presence of the MX-30 electric crossover in the line-up doesn’t really meet the needs of most North American motorists who are more interested in a longer range than the brand’s only EV at the moment.
On the other hand, Mazda is working to improve its offering in North America, notably by planning to assemble electrically powered vehicles locally.
2022 Mazda MX-30 GS | Photo: Matt St-Pierre
Masahiro Moro, Mazda’s new CEO, has stated that this plan will see the light of day somewhere around 2028. It’s not clear, however, whether this production complex will be in the USA. In fact, the plant could be based in Mexico.
North American assembly of all-electric vehicles would begin during this third phase of the electrification plan, scheduled for the period between 2028 and 2030. This announcement thus delays Mazda’s ambitions which, according to Mr. Moro’s predecessor, Mr. Akira Marumoto, were to begin between 2025 and 2027.
The automaker’s goal is to produce two types of electric vehicle in North America. Of these two, the first would be based on a platform capable of accommodating a combustion powertrain, with or without hybrid-electric assistance.
Mazda MX-30 | Photo: Mazda
The other would be based on a platform entirely dedicated to electric propulsion. We shouldn’t be surprised to see these two future new electric models appear before 2028, as Mazda may first assemble them in Japan.
Currently, Mazda has two production sites, one shared with Toyota in Huntsville, Alabama, where it assembles the CX-50, while in Mexico, at the Salamanca plant, the Mazda2, Mazda3, as well as the CX-3 and CX-30 crossovers, are currently being produced.
It’s already clear that the CX-50 will receive a hybrid variant shortly, but as for the other purely electric vehicle, no one knows what form it will take, but it’s a safe bet that it will be another utility vehicle.
