Electric Utes in Australia: What You Can Actually Buy (2026)

As of September 2026 you can buy two battery-electric utes new in Australia: the KGM Musso EV, from $60,000 drive-away, and the Toyota HiLux BEV, from $74,990 before on-road costs. A third, the MG U9 EV, is priced from $78,990 before on-roads and due in showrooms by the end of 2026. Most of the other utes marketed as electric, including the BYD Shark 6, the Ford Ranger Hybrid and the GWM Cannon Alpha, are plug-in hybrids with a petrol engine. The Musso EV is the cheapest; the MG is the one built to tow 3,500 kg.

Which electric utes can you buy in Australia?

These are the battery-electric utes sold new by their makers, with figures from the makers’ Australian websites and spec sheets. Payload is gross vehicle mass minus kerb weight, and it has to cover everyone in the cab as well as the load in the tray.

Sources: KGM’s Musso EV page for price, range, towing and payload, with the battery size from CarExpert; Toyota’s HiLux BEV launch release and HiLux BEV spec sheet, where the SR pick-up is listed at a 3,145 kg GVM and 2,420 kg kerb weight; MG’s U9 EV page and configurator, with the payload and timing from Drive.

Read the range column carefully. KGM and MG quote WLTP figures; Toyota quotes the older NEDC test, which is more generous, so the HiLux’s 315 km would be a smaller number on WLTP. Toyota’s own sheet gives the cab-chassis just 245 km NEDC.

The Musso EV is built on a car-like unibody rather than a ladder frame, and the entry version is front-wheel drive. The HiLux BEV is an all-wheel-drive dual cab only, aimed first at fleets, and Toyota says its SR and SR5 BEV grades do without the diesel’s rear diff lock. The MG U9 is the only one rated to tow 3,500 kg, the same as a diesel HiLux or Ranger.

What is the cheapest electric ute in Australia?

The KGM Musso EV, from $60,000 drive-away for the front-wheel-drive version, with the all-wheel-drive and higher grades running to $64,700 drive-away. We checked KGM’s price page on 20 October 2026. For that money you get an 80.6 kWh battery, a claimed 419 km of WLTP range, a payload of up to 905 kg and a braked towing limit of 1,800 kg (2,300 kg for the AWD). The Toyota HiLux BEV is the next cheapest at $74,990 before on-road costs, which is closer to $83,000 on the road, and the MG U9 EV starts at $78,990 before on-roads.

Two caveats before you read “cheapest” as “best value”. The Musso EV’s drive-away price is a national figure, so it already includes registration, stamp duty and dealer delivery, which makes the gap to the HiLux and MG wider than their list prices suggest. And “cheapest electric ute” is a different question from “cheapest ute with a plug”: the JAC Hunter plug-in hybrid lists from $49,988 before on-roads, and the BYD Shark 6 from $55,900, but both carry a petrol engine and neither is an electric ute. If you are shopping across both, the EV vs hybrid guide sets out what the petrol engine changes.

Which electric ute has the longest range?

The MG U9 EV, at a claimed 430 km on the WLTP test, once it arrives in late 2026. Of the utes on sale now, the KGM Musso EV goes furthest: up to 419 km WLTP for the front-wheel-drive version, from an 80.6 kWh battery. The Toyota HiLux BEV claims 315 km for the pick-up and 245 km for the cab-chassis, but on the older NEDC test, so on WLTP it would be lower again.

Those are lab figures with an empty tray. At a steady 110 km/h, plan on 60 to 75 per cent of the WLTP claim, which makes the Musso EV and the U9 roughly 250 to 320 km utes on the highway, and towing roughly halves that again (see below). On the busiest highways that is still enough: our charging gaps study found no stretch longer than about 135 km without a fast charger on the Hume, Pacific, Western or Bruce. If you need 600 km or more between stops, only the plug-in hybrids below do it today. Our guide to the longest-range electric cars compares the utes with the cars and vans that go further.

Which “electric” utes are really plug-in hybrids?

Most of the utes you see advertised with a plug. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) has a battery you charge at home and a petrol engine that takes over when it runs flat, so it tows and tours like a petrol ute but runs on electricity for short trips.

Sources: BYD’s Shark 6 page and configurator; Ford’s Ranger page, which lists the “Hybrid” as a plug-in hybrid; GWM’s Cannon Alpha page. The Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha electric ranges and the Ford and GWM prices are from CarExpert’s May 2026 roundup and may have moved since.

Ford now sells its Ranger PHEV as the Ranger Hybrid, which makes the confusion worse: it still has a plug, a battery and a petrol engine. None of these three qualifies for the electric car FBT exemption, and none of them is in our battery-EV data. If you are weighing a PHEV ute against an electric one, our hybrid utes guide compares all four plug-in utes and the two mild hybrids, and the EV vs hybrid guide sets out the general trade-offs.

Which electric utes are not sold here?

The full pipeline, including what has been cancelled and delayed since this list was written, is on our electric utes coming to Australia tracker. The short version as of October 2026:

• Kia Tasman EV. Kia has talked about an electric Tasman for years, but it has not announced an Australian date or price, and Kia Australia’s product planning chief told Drive in 2024 that demand will decide whether it comes.
• Ford F-150 Lightning. Never sold by Ford Australia. A small number were converted to right-hand drive and sold by importer AusEV, and Ford has since ended Lightning production, 4X4 Australia reported. AusEV plans to sell the range-extender successor from 2027.
• Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T. Neither maker sells them here, and neither is built in right-hand drive; Drive has reported why the Cybertruck is not coming any time soon.
• LDV eT60 and eTerron 9. The eT60 was Australia’s first electric ute, but it is no longer in LDV Australia’s model line-up on its website. The eTerron 9, the U9’s twin, is unconfirmed; LDV told Drive it continues “to work with the factory”.
• Deepal E07. Sold here from $70,058 drive-away in Sydney, with a 550 km WLTP range, but Deepal markets it as an SUV with an opening load bay. It is rated for 600 kg stationary and 300 kg on the move, which rules it out as a work ute.

How far can an electric ute go when towing?

About half as far as it goes empty, and less at 110 km/h. Our guide to how far an EV can go covers the Australian test results: energy use rises 50 to 100 per cent with a caravan behind, depending on speed. A diesel ute pays a towing penalty too, but it starts with far more range and refuels in five minutes.

Worked through, the numbers look like this. Take the WLTP claim, knock it down to 60 to 75 per cent for steady highway driving, then halve it for the van. The Musso EV and MG U9 land at roughly 125 to 160 km between charges, and the HiLux BEV, starting from a smaller battery and an NEDC figure, will be shorter again. That is our planning estimate, not a maker’s figure; wind, hills and the van’s shape move it a lot. A 2-tonne caravan is also over the Musso EV 2WD’s 1,800 kg limit and at the HiLux BEV’s 2,000 kg ceiling, which leaves no margin.

The honest summary for grey-nomad touring with a big van is that none of today’s electric utes does it comfortably. For towing a box trailer to the tip, a camper around a region, or a boat to the local ramp, they work fine.

Is an electric ute worth it for towing?

For a box trailer, a tinnie, a camper trailer or a small caravan on short legs, yes: the instant torque makes towing easy, and the running costs stay low. For a 2 to 3 tonne caravan on a long tour, no, not with the utes on sale in October 2026. The Musso EV 2WD is rated at 1,800 kg, which rules out most family vans outright; the HiLux BEV stops at 2,000 kg; and the MG U9 is the only one rated to 3,500 kg, with no Australian towing range tests yet. Whatever the rating, plan on about half the normal range with a van behind, as the section above explains, and on charging stops where you may have to unhitch.

If towing is the main job, a plug-in hybrid ute (the Shark 6, Ranger PHEV, Cannon Alpha PHEV or JAC Hunter) tows 3,500 kg with a petrol engine to cover the long stretches, at the cost of the FBT exemption and a more complicated drivetrain. Our EV towing guide covers what happens if an EV with a trailer needs a tow itself.

How do you charge a ute on a road trip?

The practical problem is not the plug. All three use the CCS2 connector found on every DC fast charger in Australia. The problem is the bay. Many public fast-charging bays are laid out for a car to drive in nose-first, so with a trailer attached you often have to unhitch, charge, and hitch up again, or block the next bay. Before a towing trip, check each stop on our charger map or the network’s app for a pull-through bay or enough room to park across, and plan legs well inside your towing range.

Plan the no-charger stretches too. If you run flat with a trailer on, you need a flatbed for the ute and a second tow for the trailer, because an EV cannot be dragged on its wheels; our EV towing guide explains why and what to tell roadside assistance.

What does the battery do to payload?

It takes a slice of it. A battery weighs hundreds of kilograms, and it counts against the gross vehicle mass the same way a load in the tray does. The HiLux BEV SR pick-up weighs 2,420 kg at the kerb against a 3,145 kg GVM, leaving about 725 kg for people, gear and the towball download. Five adults and a toolbox can use most of that before you load the tray.

The same figure affects tax. The ATO’s electric car FBT exemption applies only to a “car designed to carry a load of less than one tonne”. All three electric utes are rated below a tonne, so they count as cars, and all three start under the $91,661 luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles. That puts them in scope for a tax-free novated lease under current rules, with the caveat that the proposed $75,000 cap from 1 April 2027 (announced, not yet law) would catch the HiLux pick-ups and the MG on their list prices. Confirm the exact variant with your lease provider before you order.

Does roadside assistance cover an electric ute?

Yes, but check how you use it. Like any EV, a flat electric ute cannot be towed on its wheels and needs a flatbed.

Work use. Most personal roadside plans exclude work vehicles. NRMA’s personal plans exclude “a Vehicle or Trailer that is used for business or commercial purposes” (NRMA terms), RAC in WA’s “does not cover vehicles used for commercial or business purposes”, and RACT’s is “for consumer use only”. RACV excludes vehicles used primarily for delivering goods and services, while RACQ, RAA and AANT exclude only vehicles used solely for business. If the ute is a work vehicle, put it on the club’s business plan, such as NRMA’s business roadside, RACV Business Care, RACQ Fleet Care or RAC BusinessWise. Check the ute’s gross vehicle mass against the plan’s limit too, which is 3.5 tonnes on NRMA’s personal plans; the HiLux BEV SR pick-up is rated at 3,145 kg.

What the maker includes. KGM includes five years of roadside assistance on the Musso EV, and its terms are among the best for an EV: “Wherever possible, we will provide sufficient charge to drive the vehicle. Where it is not possible or practical, a tow to the nearest accessible and compatible EV charging station will be provided” (KGM roadside terms). MG offers roadside assistance “for the duration of your MG vehicle’s warranty” (MG), with no out-of-charge clause on that page. We could not read Toyota’s terms for the HiLux BEV.

Our guides to running out of charge, who tows an EV to a charger and EV roadside assistance cover the rest, and our electric vans guide covers the heavier-vehicle limits that catch out large vans.

Should you buy an electric ute now?

If most of your driving is suburban, a work ute that comes home every night, or a fleet run with a charger at the depot, the Musso EV and HiLux BEV already make sense, and the running costs are a fraction of diesel. If you tow heavy or tour remote Australia, the current crop is not there yet, and a plug-in hybrid ute or a diesel remains the practical choice. Watch the MG U9’s first Australian towing tests this summer; it is the first electric ute here with the rated capacity to change that answer. If the job needs a covered load space rather than a tray, our electric vans guide compares every electric van on sale, from about $45,000 drive-away.