Electric vehicle sales have slowed in Australia, but Mazda believes it could have the solution – a return to the sedan.
Amid all the array of new electric small cars and SUVs, Mazda is taking a dramatically different tacit, confirming its all-new 6e sedan is locked in for Australia. Revealed in Melbourne, Mazda Australia has said it will be on sale by the second quarter of 2026.
While final specifications and pricing haven’t been revealed, the company has announced some key details. Most notably, confirming that the entry-level model in the 6e range will be priced from less than $55,000.
It will also be powered by a single electric motor at the rear, making it rear-wheel drive and with up to 190kW of power.
Mazda has previously only offered one electric vehicle, the short-lived and low-volume MX-30 compact SUV, but Mazda Australia Managing Director, Vinesh Bhindi, dismissed the notion that the 6e was ‘take two’ at electric cars for the brand.
“So it’s our second battery EV offering rather than take two because the first one [MX-30] was always a niche game because we only put our hand up for a hundred cars with the factory when the program came,” Bhindi told Torquecafe.
He added: “But we knew that product was gonna appeal to a very small community. But what it did was prepare ourselves for, and mainly our dealer technicians and Mazda Australia technicians, on what this technology means now.
“So, apprentice training program, our technical training program to make sure that people were getting either aware or used to this technology coming into the workshops. Because we knew the future would look more electrified than less.”
With Mazda now partnered with Chinese car maker, Changan, it has been able to develop a more cost-effective EV that will hopefully appeal to an audience greater than 100 people.
Bhindi believes that the timing is ideal to add the 6e, as the Federal Government has recently announced its hopes that EVs will make up as much as 50 per cent of the new car market by 2035.
“So when this opportunity came about, and it’s been in the making for a little while now, it makes perfect sense,” he said. “And in particular when a few weeks or probably a month ago, the government keeps saying that we have to commit to an ambitious CO2 reduction target.
“The auto sector, the transport sector will be needing to carry a big slice of that burden, because where else is gonna come from? It’s gonna be, you know, mining and industry. Which means I expect the government will continue to roll out strategies and tactics and policies that continue the encouragement and shift towards these technologies.”
Full details of the 6e will be revealed closer to its launch in the second quarter of 2026, so stay tuned to Torquecafe for updates.
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