There may be a raft of electric utes in markets like the US, but there’s just one here. Soon, there’ll be two.
The KGM Musso EV has previously been confirmed for a local launch during the first quarter (January to March) of 2026, and now it has received Australian Government approval.
Unlike the electric LDV eT60 and its forthcoming eTerron 9 replacement – as well as all other utes offered in Australia, including KGM’s own Musso – the Musso EV features car-like unibody construction.
Documents show the Korean ute, related to the mid-size Torres crossover SUV, will be offered here with a choice of single-motor front-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrains, both featuring an 80.6kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.
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Range figures aren’t listed in these documents, but KGM in Korea claims 419km of range on the WLTP cycle for the front-wheel drive variant with 11kW AC and 300kW DC charging capability; the all-wheel drive variant is capable of a claimed 379km range.
In front-wheel drive guise, which features a 152.2kW electric motor, approval documents show the Musso EV will have a braked towing capacity of 1800kg and a payload of 905kg. This aligns with figures on KGM’s Korean-market website.
The dual-motor Musso EV, per the documents, produces 304.4kW and has an identical braked towing capacity but a slightly lower payload figure of 805kg.
Across the wider ute segment, braked towing capacity figures of 3000-3500kg are the norm.
The Musso EV also falls short of other utes – literally – in running clearance, with a figure of just 181mm.
However, the Musso EV’s payload figures – calculated by subtracting the tare mass figure listed in the documents from gross vehicle mass – aren’t far off plug-in hybrid utes like the Ford Ranger (808kg-973kg), BYD Shark 6 (790kg) and GWM Cannon Alpha (685kg).
The Musso EV measures 5160mm long, 1920mm wide and 1750mm tall on a 3150mm wheelbase. That makes it 190mm shorter than a Ford Ranger PHEV on a 120mm shorter wheelbase.
It’s unclear how it’ll be priced, but given its smaller footprint, unibody construction, multi-link rear suspension and fairly limited towing capacity, it may be positioned as a more car-like alternative to other utes – in the UK, for example, KGM is calling it a “mid-size pickup for urban drivers”.
That’s in contrast with the LDV eT60, which is little more than an electric version of the body-on-frame T60 ute.
Despite its tough ladder-frame construction, however, the ageing LDV has a braked towing capacity of just 1000kg and only 130kW of power.
The Musso EV may find a more credible threat in the upcoming LDV eTerron 9, which has previously been confirmed for our market, but for which local timing has yet to be locked in.
This electric ute, related to the diesel-powered LDV Terron 9 and MG U9, is offered overseas with a choice of 200kW single-motor rear-wheel drive and 325kW dual-motor four-wheel drive configurations, and offers WLTP range of up to 430km and braked towing capacity of 3500kg.
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