KGM Musso Ev vs Mazda Cx-6E

What's the difference?

Electrified utes are growing in popularity in Australia and carmakers have been paying attention.

While the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute is by far the best-selling as it stands, there hasn’t really been any electric ute to go up against the poorly received LDV eT60, until now.

South Korea’s KGM (formerly known as SsangYong) has just launched the Musso EV, which is a purely electric dual-cab ute. It’s unrelated to the existing, turbo-diesel Musso and is more closely related to the current car-based Actyon and Torres SUVs.

Read along to see how this ute stacks up against its growing set of competitors.

We know the story of Mazda’s sudden EV push already, but I’ll recap it quickly.

On one side, soaring fuel prices and helpful incentives combined to lure Aussie buyers into EVs in record numbers. But Mazda doesn’t really have any to sell. On the other side, tightening NVES (New Vehicle Efficiency Standard) regulations punish brands that aren’t using EVs to lower their fleet emissions. But Mazda doesn’t really have any to sell.

The answer lay not in Japan, but in China, where Mazda has been able to capitalise on its relationship with Changan to get new EVs on the road quickly. The first was the 6e sedan, and this is the second arrival, the CX-6e.

And yes, that means that under the skin of this undeniably sexy electric SUV it’s very similar to something from Deepal, but the brand insists it’s still very much a Mazda everywhere else. 

And so with this, Mazda rides into the electric SUV fray. But how does it stack up?