- Mazda Australia has revealed specification and pricing for the upcoming 6e EV, showing what we can expect to see here.
- The 6e is priced competitively in Australia, but we expect even sharper pricing for the NZ market.
- Mazda New Zealand expects to reveal specs and pricing for our market in the coming months.
Mazda Australia has revealed specification and pricing for the company’s new electric vehicle, the Mazda 6e, announcing that it was also available for pre-order at Mazda dealers across Australia.
While Mazda NZ says it is still a few months away from finalising specs and pricing for the local launch, the Australian announcement throws up some interesting clues as to what we might expect to see here.
The 6e sits on a 2895mm wheelbase and is 4921mm long, making it roughly the same size as a Tesla Model 3 (2875mm and 4724mm, respectively). The Mazda 6e is powered by a 190kW/290Nm electric motor mounted on the rear axle, and Mazda claims a WLTP driving range of up to 560km from its 78kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery.
Like Mazda UK, which announced 6e pricing and specs earlier this month, Mazda Australia is offer in the 6e in two model grades; the AU$49,9990 (NZ$59,990) GT and the flagship AU$52,990 (NZ$62,990) Atenza, a name that will be familiar with Kiwi buyers thanks to our used Japanese import market, with the Mazda6 wearing that name in its home market.
In the UK the GT is called the Takumi (no, not 'Takami' like the high spec Mazdas here are called...) and costs an eye-watering £38,995 (NZ$88,210) and the top-spec Atenza, called the Takumi Plus, is £39,995 (NZ$90,470).
The entry-level GT/Takumi is generously equipped and comes standard with a 10.2-inch TFT LCD multi-meter display, a 14.6-inch central touchscreen display, 19-inch alloy wheels, an augmented-reality active driving display, keyless entry, tri-zone climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated and ventilated front seats, 64-colour ambient lighting, and premium Sony Audio with 14 speakers.
Standard safety features include a 360-degree monitor, blind spot monitoring (BSM) with Vehicle Exit Warning, lane support (LDW/LAS/LDP), and smart brake support (SBS) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, front and rear cross traffic alert, and an "intuitive Driver Monitoring system" that Mazda says focusses on "unobtrusive yet thorough monitoring".
The range-topping Atenza/Takumi Plus includes all of this as standard, but also adds tan leather and synthetic suede seats with quilted stitching, a two-tone tan/black leather steering wheel and tan synthetic suede dashboard and door trims.
In purely speculative terms, we wouldn't be surprised to see Mazda New Zealand take an even more slimmed-down 6e range here, most likely offering just the top-spec model (albeit probably not called the Atenza or Takumi Plus, for obvious reasons), simply because the sedan/liftback body style of the 6e makes it a relatively niche model, with the closely related CX-6e all-electric SUV more likely to come with a wider range when it lands here, being the preferred body style in our market.
We also don't expect to see its price to translate directly from AU$ (or particularly UK£) to NZ$, as the 6e landing here at the Aussie price of NZ$62,990 would hamper its chances of success in New Zealand: a price that starts with a 5 would seem to be far more likely, particularly with the aggressive pricing of Chinese alternatives here keeping prices in the segment down.
As an example, the BYD Seal starts at $58,990 for the 61kWh/460km Dynamic model, the closest equivalent to the 6e, rising to $65,990 for the 83kWh/570km Premium model, while the Tesla Model 3 starts at $63,900 for the 62kWh/520km Premium RWD and rises to $71,900 for the 73kWh/691km Premium Long Range RWD.
Above the entry model BYD and below the entry model Tesla would seem to be the perfect sweet spot for Mazda to aim for. We will know soon enough of they hit it.
