Bid with China-sourced 6e sedan to begin in late-2026.

LITTLE previous luck with electric and an increasingly challenging market for battery-committed cars has not dissuaded Mazda New Zealand from deciding to return to the sector.

The Auckland-domiciled distributor has confirmed it has committed to bringing an electric sedan out of China, the 6e, into the showroom from late next year.

Pricing and final specification details have yet to be reconciled for the five-seater car, which effectively identifies as a fully electric equivalent of the Mazda6 passenger car it dropped over a year ago due to eroded consumer consideration.

Regional availability for the car was confirmed last month, with Mazda Australia signing up. Mazda NZ at that stage said it was keen to include, but needed more time to consider how it work.

Our neighbour’s plan is to adopt a single edition, from mid-2026, with pricing starting at the equivalent of $NZ62,000.

In shared comment today, Mazda NZ managing director David Hodge says the 6e continues the heritage of the Mazda6 nameplate, which sold locally across multiple generations.

“All generations of the Mazda6 have been held in high regard in New Zealand,” he said.

“The model is known for striking design, superb comfort and high levels of driving enjoyment. The Mazda 6e continues this theme whilst offering new levels of technology and a dynamic EV powertrain to our customers.”

The car made global sales debut in China as the EZ-6, and subsequently announced for Europe then the United Kingdom.

While Hiroshima puts its name to 6e and was responsible for the styling, the project owes as much to Changan, a car-making partner in China. It also sell the 6e under its Deepal brand, as the SO7, and is responsible for the chassis and electronics.

In addition to the fully electric edition, Changan also has a range extender using a petrol engine as a generator to drive the wheels. That version does not seem to have consideration for this region.

The car has a 78kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery and a 190kW single electric motor driving the rear wheels.

Driving range north of 500 kilometres based on WLTP testing is cited. Charging capacity from 30 to 80 percent in just 15 minutes is also cited.

Mazda says the design introduces the next evolution of Mazda’s design philosophy, “Kodo: Soul of Motion”.

Its cites the “smooth, flowing lines and bold features” as giving the car a “strong, yet refined, presence.”

The low roofline and short-deck coupé silhouette offer a sporty look while keeping the functionality of a five-door hatchback, the make says.

Mazda’s “signature design, craftsmanship and meticulously tuned driving performance” is promised.

Mazda NZ has lacked a passenger car of this size since the petrol Mazda6 was dropped at the starts of 2024; since then it has intensified effort into sports utilities and crossovers.

Changan also produces an electric sports utility for Mazda, the EX-60, which it revealed in April.

Mazda NZ now intensively targets the SUV sector and tried without success to include its previous electric model, the MX-30, into that action.

The latter came out in 2021, first as full electric then in range extender, but never resonated, even when electric car sales were at a boom.

Consumer interest in EV has significantly dropped since end of 2023, when the rebate was withdrawn, and further fell about being hit by Road User Chargers from April 2024. Sales in 2025 to date are around 20 percent better than in 2024, but the volume is 70 percent down on the last healthy year, 2023, with fewer than 6500 registrations to date.

Last week’s dilution of the Clean Car Standard could cause even more harm to EV aspiration, ironically at a time when the global car market - and Chinese brands entering NZ in particular - are focusing on the technology.

The Mazda6e and EX-60 share a common platform and many components. An international version of EZ-60 is planned, to be sold as the CX-6e.

While the SUV’s exterior has some design kinship with existing Mazda models, the interior is a radical departure.

The car divests almost all physical switchgear and instead has a huge 26.45-inch 5K display, effectively serving as both the central touchscreen for multimedia controls and also as an instrument cluster, showing the speedometer and other relevant operational data, as per the Tesla Model 3/Y and the Volvo EX30. Unlike those, it does have a head up display.

The EZ-60 measures 4850mm long, 1935mm wide and 1620mm tall on a 2902mm wheelbase. That makes it larger than a Tesla Model Y and close in overall length to the Toyota Highlander.