When Mazda released the specifications of the 2022 Mazda MX-5, they also released some details on the number of Mazda MX-5s manufactured since its debut in 1989.

To date, just over 1.2 million Mazda MX-5s have been produced. The 250,000th MX-5 rolled out of the factory on 9th November 1992, and the 500,000th on 8th February 1999. In 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records declared the MX-5 the best-selling two-seat sports car in history, with a total production of 531,890 units.

On 22nd April 2016, Mazda broke its Guinness World Record by producing its one-millionth MX-5. The MX-5 was shown in select cities, including Melbourne, where fans could physically sign it before returning to Mazda headquarters in Hiroshima.

Nearly half of the MX-5s, 516,000, have found a home in North America. Europe is the next biggest market (378,000), followed by the car's Japanese homeland (210,000). Meanwhile, the second year of the MX-5's life (1990) was its biggest for worldwide sales (75,000), and the final year of the third-gen car (2014) was the lowest (a mere 12,000). Sales now broadly hover around the 30,000-a-year mark.

With over 1.2 million produced, the Mazda MX-5 retains its title as the world's most popular two-seat convertible sports car.