Mazda Puts Drive-Away Offers on Both Its EVs: 6e From $52,990, CX-6e From $56,990

Image credit: Mazda Australia

Mazda has put both of its electric cars on drive-away deals, and the CX-6e has barely finished landing in showrooms. The offers sit under an "Electric Vehicle Driveaway Offers" banner on mazda.com.au, and the model pages carry them on all four grades, both 6e liftbacks and both CX-6e SUVs. CarsGuide reported it on 29 September as a price cut. It is worth being precise, because the two things behave very differently in a dealership.

The Prices

One powertrain across the whole lot, a single rear-mounted 190kW / 290Nm motor and a 78kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, so this is one group with Mazda's list price beside the new drive-away figure.

The drive-away column applies in the ACT, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, with Western Australia $1,000 higher on every grade. Mazda's terms say the figures include 12 months registration, 12 months CTP, stamp duty, other applicable statutory charges, and dealer delivery and administration charges. Premium paint is out. The Warm Beige interior is a $1,000 option (GT only on the 6e) with its own drive-away line: $53,990 on a 6e GT, $57,990 on a CX-6e GT, $60,990 on a CX-6e Azami, again a thousand higher in WA.

This Caps Your On-Roads, It Does Not Cut the Sticker

Mazda's own words are "Driveaway Offer", and Mazda has announced no change to the list prices behind it since launch: 6e GT $49,990 and Atenza $52,990 from the February pricing release, CX-6e GT $53,990 and Azami $56,990 from the April one. Nothing in Mazda's material calls this a reduction, and a cut is only a cut when the maker says it is one.

What has changed is who carries the on-road bill above $3,000. Rego, CTP, stamp duty and delivery on a car in the low fifties are not a flat national number, so the value here varies by postcode. Testing it is boring but quick: get a normal drive-away quote on the grade you want and compare it with the offer figure for your state. If the standard quote is $55,500 on a 6e GT, the offer is worth $2,510 to you. If it is $53,400, it is worth $410.

One warning. Mazda has not published an end date, and the terms read "whilst stocks last" with pricing "subject to change". The grade and colour you want can disappear from the offer well before the offer itself does. Worth checking what else is live on our deals page first, because a capped drive-away and a factory bonus that hands back cash are worth different things to different buyers.

Image credit: Mazda Australia

Where the CX-6e Lands Against the Obvious Rival

The CX-6e is the one the offer changes most, because it is brand new, and the obvious rival to measure it against is the Tesla Model Y RWD. Here are both Mazda grades against it on the figures we hold.

On list price the CX-6e GT undercuts the Model Y RWD by $4,910, and the gap is wider in practice, because a Model Y buyer still has on-road costs to add while the Mazda's offer figure already includes them. Range goes the Mazda's way too on the WLTP figures we hold, 484km for the CX-6e GT against 466km, though the Azami gives some back on its 21-inch wheels.

If this is going onto a novated lease rather than a cash deal, run your own numbers through the lease calculator before you pick a grade.

Our Take

Two electric Mazdas on offers this early says plenty about how hard this part of the market is, and buyers get the benefit. The CX-6e GT at $56,990 drive-away is the one that will move metal, because it puts a brand-new medium electric SUV on the road, registered and plated, for less than some rivals ask before on-roads are added: on our rows the Zeekr 7X RWD lists at $57,900 and the Kia EV5 Air Long Range FWD at $61,170.

Just read it for what it is. Your saving is the gap between this number and the drive-away quote you would otherwise have been given, not the $3,000 gap between the offer and the list price. Full specs on the 6e GT, 6e Atenza, CX-6e GT and CX-6e Azami pages.