Mazda PH to Get 20 Units of Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition

Five years ago, Mazda released the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Mazda MX-5, with the Philippine market getting 25 units courtesy of the Japanese carmaker's local distributor, Bermaz Auto Philippines (BAP). Recently, at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, Mazda showed off the 30th Anniversary Edition model, now based on the current ND model, clad in its exclusive Racing Orange color, and available in either the classic soft-top variant or the retractable hardtop RF.

Well, at a gathering yesterday morning, February 10, with the Miata Club Philippines, no less than BAP President and CEO Steven Tan revealed to the members that his company has been given a 20-unit allocation of the 30th Anniversary Edition model. While that may be a reason to rejoice for most MX-5 fans, those who prefer the classic MX-5 soft-top design may be disappointed to find out that BAP's allocation is limited to the RF. Perhaps as a consuelo de bobo for this bit of faux pas, the local allotment of the Anniversary Edition will be offered in both manual- and automatic-transmission variants.

Better than nothing, we suppose.

As for the 500-unit allocation in the United States, Mazda USA claims that half of the allotment was reserved within an hour after the order books opened, "with 100 of those units secured in less than 15 minutes." Three hours later, all 500 units have already been spoken for "and a waitlist for the vehicle continues to grow."

For the 20-unit, Philippine-market allotment, we won't be surprised if they're all spoken for as soon as Tan made the announcement.