$60K for an electric Ute? KGM Musso EV undercuts rivals with BYD Shark plug-in-hybrid style pricing and 420km battery range

Lukas Foyle

Contributor

Australian EV ute market expands with the arrival of KGM’s Musso EV, far ahead of big-name rivals from Toyota, Ford and Isuzu

KGM Australia has revealed its new dedicated electric Musso dual-cab, which joins a highly exclusive EV-ute club, once solely comprised of the LDV eT60.

But where LDV’s eT60 starts from a staggering $92,990 before on-road costs, the KGM Musso EV enters the Australian market with a highly competitive drive-away price of $60,000.

Key electrified plug-in ute rival BYD Shark 6 best pay attention. Its sharp starting price of $57,900 before on-roads no doubt helped the vehicle secure a position as one of Australia’s favourites in an increasingly competitive segment.

What does each grade of the Musso EV include?

In base form, the Musso EV is unexpectedly front-wheel drive, producing 152kW and 339Nm. For an extra $4000 (bringing the drive-away price to $64,000), buyers can option all-wheel drive, adding an additional rear electric motor to raise combined output to 266kW / 630Nm. — impressive, but a few numbers shy of the BYD Shark’s 321kW and 650Nm.

Standard equipment is shared for both the front- and all-wheel drive Musso EV models. Highlighted features include:

17-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights, taillights and DRLs
Self-levelling rear suspension
Dual-zone climate control
12.3-inch infotainment touch screen and driver instrument cluster
360-degree camera
Eight-way powered, heated, and ventilated front seats
Heated rear outboard seats
Heated steering wheel
Wireless device charger

Between the base front driver and range topping all-wheel drive Musso EV sits the front-drive only Black Edge, which adds the following equipment:

Leather and suede upholstery
Black 17-inch alloy wheels
Black exterior highlights
Dark wood grain dash trim

Presuming that KGM’s rivals will arrive without complication next year, the Musso EV still has a favourable party trick — a combined range figure of 420km WLTP in base front-drive form, or 380km WLTP when optioned with all-wheel drive.

Those are impressive figures given the Toyota Hilux EV, LDV eT60, and Isuzu D-Max EV struggle to break the boundary of 250km WLTP.

Two critical factors drive the Musso’s range ahead of competitors: First, its large 80.6kWh battery, which is paired with a 371V system to allow for an 11kW AC full-from-empty charge in around 10 hours, or rapid 300kW DC charge from 10-80 percent in around 36 minutes.

Second is its lightweight (relative to rivals) monocoque chassis, which tips the scales at 2165kg in FWD form, or 2285kg in AWD spec (both figures represent kerb weight).

Where conventional dual-cabs, both in combustion and electric form, often utilise a rugged, payload and off-road focused ladder-frame chassis, the electric Musso’s car-like, lifestyle focused monocoque is more similar to that featured in the KGM Actyon SUV.

Both payload and braked towing capacity are reduced compared to the Musso EV’s diesel counterpart, earmarked at 905kg (805kg for AWD models) and 1800kg respectively. Off-road capability remains to be proven.

While the Musso and Musso EV share the same name, they certainly do not share the same dimensions. The electric measures 5160mm long (+65mm), 1920mm wide (-30mm), 1750mm tall (-90mm), and drives on a wheelbase of 3150mm (+50mm).

Both models do however share the same tub size of 1345mm long, 1515mm wide, and 510mm deep. Currently, there is no public plan for an extended tray Musso EV XLV. The combustion Musso XLV option extends the model’s wheelbase by 110mm, and tray length by 300mm.