Mazda Motor Corporation is accelerating the development of its new global export hub in China and plans to begin shipments of EVs to Australia, starting with the Mazda 6e electric compact sedan, in mid-2026.
The plan was revealed on October 27 by Changan Mazda, Mazda’s joint venture with China’s Changan Automobile.
This decision highlights a growing trend among global car manufacturers to rely more heavily on their Chinese joint ventures for expertise in electric vehicles to supply markets beyond China. Additionally, producing EVs for export also helps improve factory utilization in China as domestic demand slows.
The Mazda 6e destined for the Australian market is the first electric vehicle jointly developed and engineered by Mazda and Changan.
While automakers like Ford, Kia, Hyundai, and GM export gasoline-powered vehicles from China, Mazda stands out as the sole global brand to have marketed Chinese-developed electric vehicles internationally.
In China, the model is sold as the Mazda EZ-6, which launched in October 2024 with a base price of 139,800 yuan.
The EZ-6 offers two lithium iron phosphate battery options. The smaller 56.1-kilowatt-hour pack delivers a range of 480 kilometers (298 miles) based on the China Light Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which tends to be more generous than the U.S. EPA standard. The larger 68.8 kWh pack extends driving range to 600 kilometers (373 miles).
Mazda began exporting the 6e from China to Europe in April. On September 26, it introduced the EZ-60 compact crossover—its second electric vehicle co-developed with Changan—into the Chinese market. The company also plans to ship the China-built EZ-60 to global markets starting in 2026, though Changan Mazda has yet to disclose which markets will receive it.
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