Chinese Kia Carnival rival coming to Australia? Documents show LDV G90 poised to be offered Down Under

Chinese brand LDV, known in Australia for its light-commercial vehicles, is expected to replace its popular G10 people-mover with a new model called the G90.

Now approved for homologation in Australia, the LDV G90 is available in China already as the Maxus G90 in either petrol or diesel, or as a related electric variant known as the Mifa 9. Adding weight to the possibility of the G90’s local debut is the fact that the Mifa 9 is confirmed for Australia later this year. 

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Upon its Chinese launch in May this year, the G90 caught the attention of CarsGuide after the passenger version of the similarly sized LDV G10 van was discontinued.

At the time, an LDV spokesperson told CarsGuide the brand’s local importer was “aware” of the G90 and would consider the model for Australia.

CarsGuide has contacted LDV’s Australian arm regarding recent developments.

Information seen this week leads us to believe that LDV will bring the petrol version of the G90 people-mover to Australia as a passenger model to fight the likes of the Kia Carnival and Hyundai Staria.

For the now-axed people-mover version of the G10, the Kia Carnival and Hyundai Staria both dominate the segment now, but in 2021 the G10 was competitive with the also-now-axed Honda Odyssey in terms of sales, holding an almost 10 per cent segment market share.

Further to this, the Australian market is beginning to accept electric passenger vans such as the Mercedes-Benz eVito. It’s not unreasonable to expect another brand like LDV to bring a new electric van to market - such as the already confirmed-for-Australia Mifa 9.

On top of that, LDV will introduce an electric version of its T60 ute, and a Ford e-Transit rival in the larger eDeliver 9 van.

Closely related to the G90 and arriving here in November 2022, the Mifa 9 boasts a 90kWh battery for a driving range of up to 440km, plus a relatively up-to-date suite of safety features including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, rear collision warning, and lane change assist.

Initially, the Mifa 9 will arrive as a seven seater, although the eight-seat version will arrive next year.

Upon confirmation of the Mifa 9 for Australia, LDV Australia general manager Dinesh Chinnappa told CarsGuide the brand is focused on electric vehicles as the world shifts to EV tech.

““Every major OEM is committed to developing electric vehicles, but what is less spoken about is the growing influence of China’s EV market on the rest of the world – and we in Australia are now benefiting from that influence with the arrival of eT60, eDeliver 9 and Mifa 9,” he said.

“The Australian auto industry is at a crucial pivot point and embarking on a journey many countries commenced years ago.”