Electric Mazda MX-30 potentially in line for South African introduction

Mazda has confirmed that the battery-electric MX-30 will potentially be launched in South Africa in the future, “but not in the next two years.”

The MX-30 is the first mass-production electric vehicle (EV) being built by Mazda, and it’s currently on sale in Europe as both a fully-electric and plug-in range-extender hybrid vehicle alongside hybrid variants of the Mazda 2 and 3 hatches and CX-30 crossover.

“Mazda is developing several other hybrid/electric vehicles in the future, however, there needs to be a growing interest in demand for these vehicles in SA before we can introduce these innovations to the SA market,” said the manufacturer.

MX-30 specifications

The electric MX-30 in Europe has one powertrain configuration in the form of a 35.5kWh battery hooked up to a front electric motor generating 107kW and 271Nm.

This setup ensures 100km/h is attainable in 9.7 seconds as well as a top speed of 140km/h, and a range of between 200-265km is at the driver’s disposal.

Using a 50kW DC cable, the EV charges from 20-80% in a little under 30 minutes, and with an 11kW current the same charge will take around two hours.

Alongside the battery-powered model, a plug-in range-extender hybrid (R-EV) was also recently launched packing a small rotary engine that acts as a generator for the electric motor.

A rotary was chosen for this drivetrain due to the unique way in which it “can produce the required output with a small power unit,” said the automaker.

When in use, this powerplant charges a 17.8kWh battery module which, in turn, powers the 125kW electric motor that drives the front wheels. The slightly more powerful R-EV also brings down the 100km/h sprint time to 9.1 seconds.

It then takes 85km of driving before the petrol motor kicks in, and a total range of 600km is achievable until the 50-litre fuel tank runs dry. The newer R-EV’s battery supports charging via a cable, too, with up to a 36kW DC plug completing 20-80% in 25 minutes.