The redesigned 2016 Mazda 2 won’t be coming to the U.S. after all, despite being built just south of the border at a new factory in Mexico. According to a report in Automotive News, Mazda’s U.S. brass has decided that subcompact just isn’t profitable enough to bother with in a country where gas is cheap and everybody wants a crossover anyway.
Mazda sold 13,615 copies of the 2 in 2014, against 59,340 Honda Fits, 63,192 Ford Fiestas, and 93,518 Chevy Sonics. And the company is busy this year with the launch of the new CX-3, and of course the new Miata.
Subcompact buyers who really want a Mazda-engineered entry do have some recourse. They can head over to their neighborhood Scion store, and check out the Scion iA sedan, which is essentially a rebadged version of the Mazda 2 sedan. Or they can pick up a genuine Mazda 2 hatchback on their next trip to Puerto Rico—the car will be sold there—and stuff it into their carry-on.
As for the rest of us, Mazda senior VP of U.S. operations, Robert Davis, did offer this nugget of hope: “It will always be there if we need it.” Suggesting that if circumstances change—a spike in gas prices, for example—Mazda could decide to import the car. In the meantime, perhaps you’d be interested in a CX-3?
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