Mazda Stops CX-50 Exports To Canada As Tariff War Escalates

Mazda builds all North American CX-50s at its Alabama factory shared with Toyota

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The ripple effects of the Trump-era tariff policies are still disrupting supply chains, and this time, Mazda is taking a direct hit. The automaker has confirmed it will pause production of CX-50s bound for Canada, a move prompted by America’s tariffs and corresponding Canadian countermeasures.

Mazda says the pause will begin on May 12 at its Huntsville, Alabama plant, which builds the CX-50 for North American markets. The company did not say how long the suspension will last. According to Mazda Canada spokesperson Sandra Lemaitre, dealers across the country will continue selling the remaining stock for as long as they can.

Read: The 2023 Mazda CX-50 Is A Gateway To The Great Outdoors

“Mazda Canada currently has a limited supply of CX-50 inventory and in-transit units that our retailers will continue to sell,” Lamaitre told Auto News. There’s no indication yet of how long that inventory will hold out.

In 2023, every one of the 10,759 CX-50s sold in Canada came from the Alabama plant. The compact crossover accounted for roughly 15 percent of Mazda’s total Canadian sales last year.

Removing the CX-50 from the Canadian market will leave a sizeable gap between the outdated CX-5 and the much larger CX-70 in the local lineup. Production of all CX-50s for Western markets is handled by the Huntsville site Mazda operates alongside Toyota. A Chinese-specific version is also built in Nanjing. Last year, no less than 88,336 CX-50s were built in Alabama, the vast majority of which were sold in the United States.

Mazda says it believes “that maintaining fair trade and economic stability globally, and within the North American market, is extremely important, and we hope that the trade situation will be resolved quickly.”

Future Uncertain if Tariffs Persist

If the tariffs stick around, Mazda may face a tough choice. It could raise the price of the CX-50 in Canada to offset added costs, or potentially withdraw the model from the market entirely. For now, buyers looking for a CX-50 north of the border will have to act fast, as what’s in stock is all there is.