Mazda dealers OK to wait a few years for EV plunge

Mazda is in the middle of a product revival that started with a new generation of the Mazda3 sedan and continued with two new nameplates: the CX-30 subcompact crossover and the CX-50 compact crossover.

The CX-50 also marks Mazda's return to U.S. manufacturing at its new joint-venture assembly plant with Toyota in Alabama. The Mazda portion of the plant has production capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year.

But there are no immediate plans for a big electric vehicle rollout, and dealers are OK with that, said Jim Scherer, chairman of the Mazda National Dealer Advisory Council and owner of Scherer Mazda in Peoria, Ill.

Mazda does have the MX-30 subcompact EV in California and there will be a plug-in hybrid version available in an expanded number of states for the 2023 model year. The brand also has a broader road map for future electrified vehicles, including a standard hybrid version of the CX-50.

"I think there is nothing but excitement," said Scherer. "What we're told by Mazda is that in the next three years we're going to have a global introduction of 13 electrified models. That's not just hybrids. That's three EVs, five hybrids and five plug-in hybrids."

Mazda also is developing a new six-cylinder gasoline engine and rear-wheel-drive platform for upscale vehicles, including two crossovers for the North American market, the CX-90 and CX-70.

The biggest issue for Mazda retailers is supply. The brand managed last year to notch its best sales in decades, even amid the semiconductor shortage. But dealers still cannot keep up with demand. "I feel it will remain tight for most of 2022, but I can tell you that the flow is steady," Scherer said. "We're selling them well into our pipeline — for weeks. Most of our vehicles that land are already sold."