New Mazda CX-6e revealed: striking electric SUV will rival Tesla and Audi

This is the striking new Mazda EZ-60, a midsize all-electric SUV that should be arriving in the UK and Europe in 2026 to rival the Tesla Model Y, Audi Q4 e-tron and Ford Capri. When it does, we expect that it’ll carry a different name – likely CX-6e – which is in line with the Mazda 6e that was revealed last year. 

The model will be revealed in the metal at the Shanghai Motor Show later in April, and that’s because this isn’t a purely Japanese-designed and engineered Mazda, but one built in conjunction with Chinese manufacturer Changan. While it has been designed primarily for the Chinese market, Mazda hopes the car will compete globally, too.

On first impressions the EZ-60 has an imposing look. It might be an SUV, but its body is low and wide, with big wheels and a shallow glasshouse that make it look more like a shooting brake than a traditional upright SUV. 

Despite its Chinese connections, the design is still very Mazda, with a traditionally shaped grille graphic framed by a clever three-dimensional lighting element. While it looks blocked in, the grille has a function, thanks to a small slip vent that funnels air into a clever wing in the bonnet to help with aero. This is something also found on the Polestar 3. 

There are a pair of thin daytime running lights, with the main lighting coming from a small secondary headlight below. Aerodynamics looks to govern lots of other design elements, too, including drag-reducing camera wing-mirrors and a hollow rear pillar that will help to clean up airflow as it passes the car. 

A dramatically raked rear screen meets ultra-thin LED lighting at the back. There are two aero devices fitted alongside the screen’s glass edge, while a spelt-out Mazda logo sits in place of the traditional winged badge. 

We created an exclusive image to show how the Mazda CX-6e might look when it arrives in the highly competitive C and D-segment electric SUV market, and based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s pretty much spot on.

The cabin is yet to be revealed, but we expect most of its core elements, such as the digital interfaces and basic cabin architecture, will come from the Mazda 6e. This means that it’ll share more with a Changan model than a traditional Mazda, due to the use of a large touchscreen in the middle of the dash, plus a floating centre console with a storage area below that takes advantage of the electric architecture’s flat floor. 

Range, technology and price

Technical details are still thin on the ground, but Mazda could develop its electric SUV on the same platform as the 6e – created via a joint venture with Chinese automotive giant Changan – or on a new in-house EV architecture dubbed ‘Scalable SkyActiv’. 

Mazda’s chiefs previously hinted at an SUV based on this flexible platform late last year. And Mazda UK’s managing director, Jeremy Thomson, has since told us to “watch this space” when asked why the firm had chosen to lead its next EV offering with a saloon rather than an SUV. “We’ll start plugging all of the gaps; they will be the mainstream kind of cars you expect. It’s a journey – we’re on a journey,” he explained.

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Leaving space in Mazda’s range for a larger electric SUV to potentially provide an alternative to the CX-80 flagship, the CX-6e is likely to be a strict five-seater, with a boot volume of 500 litres or more (plus storage under the bonnet) to cement its family-car credentials. We can assume the dash will largely mimic the 6e saloon’s, with a large central screen and fewer physical buttons than Mazda’s current combustion-engined cars. A fully digital instrument cluster is also likely.

One incentive for putting the CX-6e on the Scalable SkyActiv platform would be to minimise potential import tariffs for cars sold in the EU and the US. Models built in China, such as the Changan-developed 6e saloon, will be subject to high taxes in Europe that could make them prohibitively expensive in the continent.

Bosses said the first car on the new Scalable SkyActiv platform is due in 2027 – suggesting the SUV should arrive in UK showrooms shortly after the saloon. According to the current, Government-set ZEV mandate, 38 per cent of cars sold in the UK in 2027 must be electric, rising to 80 per cent in 2030 – so this EV will be of utmost importance to Mazda.

If the CX-6e does use the Scalable SkyActiv platform, powertrain and battery information is limited at best. But we’d assume by bringing the tech in-house, Mazda would aim to improve on the numbers from the 6e saloon, which will offer up to 342 miles of range from an 80kWh battery.

Given the 6e’s mooted price of £40,000, we would expect the CX-6e to have a starting price of less than £45,000, which would allow it to undercut its key rivals, including the new Tesla Model Y.

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