Mazda's MX-30, its first electric car, starts production in Japan

We were, and remain, smitten with the Mazda MX-30, which also happens to be the company's first electric car. While we still don't know if it'll come to America, the MX-30 officially entered production on Tuesday.

As the car rolls off the assembly line in Japan, the first units will ship to Europe before the car goes on sale this fall. Those who pull the trigger on the MX-30 will find a 35.5 kilowatt-hour battery, which should muster 124 miles of range on the European test cycle. That figure could be even lower if the vehicle made its way to the US, based on the EPA's test cycle. One of the reasons Mazda may skip the US likely rests in the low range figure, but rumors of an MX-30 with a rotary engine as a range extender persist. That model could find its way to America with the range extender providing more mileage to American drivers' liking.

Mazda MX-30 EV has suicide doors and cork interior trim

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Mazda really worked to make this first EV feel special, though. The "freestyle doors" that operate minus a B-pillar are very cool and harken back to the RX-8. Inside, the center console is made of cork to lower the MX-30's environment impact and much of the soft fabric drivers touch is actually made from recycled plastic bottles. Mazda didn't just work to cut tailpipe emissions, but it seriously put in the effort to lower the car's total environmental footprint.

Hopefully we get a taste of the MX-30 in the US in some form, but for now, Europeans can look forward to the car in the months to come.

Watch this: Mazda MX-30 is the brand's first electric vehicle

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