Trucks and SUVs might be the most popular body styles in America, but small sports cars are still alive and kicking. Case in point, Mazda just announced sales stats for 2023 and the MX-5 Miata is as popular as ever, with a 45.4-percent year-over-year sales increase.
In all, Mazda sold 8,973 Miatas in the United States last year. Mazda further breaks down sales for the MX-5 roadster and the hardtop RF, showing the roadster is now a bit more popular with 4,591 sold units for the year — a staggering 77.4 percent increase versus 2022. A total of 4,382 hardtops found homes in 2023, making sales of the two body styles a near 50/50 split. That's a significant change from 2022, where the RF outsold the roadster by almost 1,000 units on the dot – 3,583 to 2,588. Clearly, more folks are enjoying more sunshine behind the wheel of their Miatas.
Gallery: 2023 Mazda MX-5 Kizuna
The jump in Miata sales is part of Mazda's overall year-over-year sales increase of 23.3 percent. As you might expect, SUVs lead the charge with 153,808 CX-5s sold, followed by 77,075 CX-30s. In its first year, the new CX-90 clocked 30,821 sales, but the Miata grabs our attention because it's not new. The current-gen ND launched back in 2015 as a 2016 model. In the years since there have been just two minor facelifts.
And there's more ND love to come. According to the Miata's Program Manager Shigeki Saito, the automaker wants to keep the current generation active "for as long as possible," stating there's no specific timeframe for phasing out production.
While far from the glory days of the first-gen NA Miata, when US sales regularly topped 20,000 units per year, clocking nearly 9,000 new owners for an eight-year-old two-seater isn't bad. Moreover, it closes the gap to the Miata's main competitor, the Toyota GR86. Toyota sold 11,078 units in 2023, a year-over-year decline of 7.7 percent. Which one would you rather have? Let us know in the comments section below.
And check out Motor1's Rambling About Cars podcast for more on Miata sales and other automotive chat, available below.
