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XPeng is going hard in Australia with its new factory-backed operations, but the brand has said it doesn’t see itself as a rival to BYD.Instead, the Chinese carmaker, which has been championing the use of so-called physical AI, positions itself a key rival to Tesla.“Globally now, of course, Tesla is one of the competitors [to XPeng],” said XPeng Head of International Development Alex Tang to CarsGuide.Both companies currently offer electrified vehicles with semi-autonomous driving capabilities in certain markets, plus they are both developing humanoid robots.Tesla already offers its Full-Self Driving (Supervised) technology in Australia and XPeng is planning to roll out its version, called VLA NGP 2.0, in 2027.Additionally, XPeng is planning to introduce its humanoid robot, called Iron, to its dealers and eventually make it available to other businesses during 2027.“So far we do have some markets that we outsell Tesla, frankly speaking, and some markets, of course, Tesla has more sales,” said Tang.“But at the end of the day, what we are trying to create is affordable technology for all.“Physical AI for all, is our slogan, but it’s also our mission that we want more customer access the brand to the latest technology.“So we are not only targeting at some niche market, but mainstream customers that can afford the best technology.”“Further speaking, we have some customers that come from the premium brands,” added Tang, specifically calling out Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.“We really don’t think BYD is our competitor, not only in China but globally because we do have different positioning,” said Tang.“Not only the brand, but also the products and the customers are always different.“We are really trying to lead the development of the AI car segments that supply the best technology from the global to the local customers.”As noted above, XPeng is now a factory-backed operation in Australia, having taken over from the previous distributor, True EV.There are still ongoing legal disputes however between XPeng and True EV and a trial is set to begin locally in October.Despite this, XPeng has confirmed it plans to launch five new or updated vehicles in Australia over the next six months.Including the updated G6 electric SUV and the X9 electric people mover, the Chinese carmaker will launch the L03 coupe SUV, G9L large SUV and L05 mid-size SUV.XPeng has also confirmed the GX flagship large SUV will be coming to Australia, however concrete launch timing is yet to be locked in.

A new adventure-focused SUV is now available in right-hand drive.The Jetour T1 from Chery's off-road sub-brand has gone on sale in Malaysia, a common stepping stone for Chinese brands on the way to Australia. The T1 is on the larger end of the mid-size SUV segment, measuring at 4705mm long, 1967mm wide, 1840mm high, with a wheelbase of 2800mm.It is dimensionally similar to the GWM Tank 300 affordable off-roader that has been a confident seller in Australia so far. The T1 could take on a similar mantra to the Subaru Forester as a boxy SUV for urban or all-terrain activities.This version of the T1 is equipped with either a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, producing 125kW/270Nm or a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit, with 180kW/375Nm. It will be available in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Both are paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It is a scaled down version of its bigger off-road-ready sibling that is powered by a hefty plug-in hybrid set-up. The smaller T1 also features an electrically upward swinging powered tailgate as opposed to a side-hinged one. Inside, there is a 12.8-inch central touchscreen and 10.3-inch digital driver display as standard, along with an eight-speaker audio system and 50W wireless phone charger. The AWD variant upgrades cloth seats to synthetic leather and adds a panoramic sunroof.It also introduces a 15.6-inch central touchscreen and 10.3-inch digital driver display, as well as a premium Sony nine-speaker audio system. The T1 has officially launched in Malaysia, but it is unclear whether it will make its way to Australia in the future. Jetour is scheduled to launch in Australia next year as its own operation. It will not be directly connected to the Chery Group set-up like Omoda Jaecoo and the incoming Lepas sub-brand.Its Malaysia arrival confirms it will be available in right-hand drive, which improves its chances of a local launch, but its petrol-only set-up could attract emissions fines.The PHEV T1 could be a better fit for our market.Expect more details on the T1’s potential Australian future in the next few months as Jetour gears up to tackle the market Down Under. 

The Mitsubishi Pajero has got an official launch window, with the brand promising the model will make its global debut in the Japanese autumn, so between September and November this year.That sets the clock officially ticking for the hugely anticipated model's arrival, as its chief engineer vows "this project will be successful".That's the word from Takaaki Matsumoto, the new Pajero's Chief Vehicle Engineer, who has published a series of statements in the lead-up to the Pajero's launch.In them, he promises the new model will be "amazing", and has already silenced doubters inside the company."When it was decided to take on this heavy responsibility as the person in charge of development, it was a strange feeling of a mixture of expectations and anxiety," he says. "You can design a model that symbolises Mitsubishi Motors. There is no more rewarding a job than this. At the same time, can it create something that exceeds the weight of Pajero's history, the thoughts of employees in various positions, and above all, the expectations of fans who are eager to revive around the world? I still remember well that various emotions were intertwined."The most difficult thing for the development was that all the staff involved in the development shared 'what Pajero should be like' and put it into a specific plan. Since you call yourself Pajero, there is a performance that must be achieved."Where do I need to rebuild to do that? It is a (difficult) process to check them one by one and move forward step by step while absorbing the company's policies. At first, some staff members would have been hesitant."However, as the skeleton of the design was decided and it was dropped into the parts, I felt that the development team was making something amazing. And when I felt that the development team was full of confidence when I saw the first prototype car, I was also able to be convinced that this project will be successful."The chief engineer went on to describe the feeling he wanted the Pajero to deliver, promising a car that blends comfort with capability, and that allows anyone to tackle off-road tracks. "In the development of the new Pajero, we aimed to inherit and evolve the vulnerability and comfort that successive Pajeros have been about," he says."This is the embodiment of Pajero, which developed the 4WD, which was for working cars until now, as an all-round 4WD that anyone can run comfortably on any road. On top of that, we worked together to make a big jump up in how to make this Mitsubishi Motors' flagship."In order to shape the designer's commitment to the interior, we considered various construction methods with the design and production departments. And with the skills of craftsmen, we were able to embody an elaborate design that is difficult for mass-produced cars."I can confidently say that the new Pajero has been able to raise both static and dynamic quality to a very high level. If you open the door and get into the car, you should want to stay in this car forever, drive forever, and own it forever."It's a thought echoed by Mitsubishi's chief product specialist, Kunitoshi Itagaki, who says the new Pajero will be ready for adventure."A sense of high-quality quality, as a Mitsubishi Motors SUV, the driving performance and reliability that anyone can go anywhere with confidence, and the fact that all occupants can enjoy moving comfortably. Each of these leads to a sense of security that this car is fine, and it boosts the desire to go with adventure and challenge, just like the Pajero so far," he says.Finally, Norihiko Yoshimine, the Pajero program design director, promises that the Pajero blends history with evolution, and will pull the brand from now on. "I aimed not only to inherit Pajero's design philosophy, but also to evolve it to lead to the future," he says."Since the start of development, we have accumulated inheritance and innovation, and we were finally able to put it together into one package called the new Pajero."The new Pajero will definitely be the one who will pull Mitsubishi Motors from now on. We would like not only those who know the successive Pajero, but also the younger generation to experience the new Pajero."

Nissan has revealed a sharp price for its newest performance-tuned electric car.The Leaf Nismo just hit Japanese showrooms as a performance grade of the strong-selling Leaf small electric car.Nissan relaunched the Leaf in January as an SUV, marking a shift from its two previous hatchback generations.Nismo is Nissan’s performance arm tasked will adding sporty credentials to its cars.The Leaf Nismo shapes up as a size-up rival to the MG4 XPower hatch.It carries 6.6 million yen (or roughly $60,000) price tag in Japan, which is about a 33 per cent hike on the standard Leaf.While the Leaf Nismo has the same 160kW/355Nm single electric motor front-wheel drive set-up as up-spec Leaf variants, it receives plenty of other technical improvements.Its rethought suspension system introduces new springs, stabilises and select member bushes to provide greater rigidity and improved steering response.The car has beefed up shock absorbers to reduce body roll during hard cornering in conjunction with a specialist-tuned chassis.It rides on 19-inch alloy wheels, fitted with special Michelin tyres, aiding grip and control. The Leaf Nismo sits on the larger end of the small SUV scale, measuring up at 4415mm long, 1810mm wide, 1550mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2690mm.It weighs just under 2000kg.It also has up to 135mm of ground clearance. The Leaf Nismo’s is equipped with either a 52kWh or 75kWh battery, offering a driving range of more than 500km, according to WLTP standards.The new-generation Leaf is not currently in Nissan Australia's plans.The brand postponed its introduction after it failed to meet the business case.This means it is unlikely we will see the Leaf Nismo in Australia any time soon.However, with EVs forming more important parts of brands’ lineups, it is not entirely out of the question for a future launch.If it arrives in Australia it will likely be a touch pricier than the $60,000 equivalent Japanese starting point, coming in more expensive than the MG4 XPower.

If you can’t beat them, join them. Volkswagen has long resisted the urge to add conventional, Toyota-style hybrid power to its cars, but not anymore.The German maker is rapidly expanding its petrol-electric range, diversifying from the petrol, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric options currently available.Now it has revealed European prices for the VW Golf hatchback and T-Roc SUV hybrids, which would rival the popular Toyota Corolla and Corolla Cross.Prices start at €41,400 ($67,000) for the Golf and €44,470 ($72,000) for the T-Roc. Both models are only available in the top-spec R-Line specification, and represent about a €4000 ($6500) premium over the petrol models.Petrol R-Line versions cost about $50,000 before on-road costs in Australia, so a hybrid version could cost about $60,000 on the road in Australia. That would put it about $20,000 more than the cheapest equivalent Toyota hybrids.Volkswagen Australia has previously been unable to confirm if the hybrid Golf and T-Roc will arrive in Australia, but the company said it is always evaluating opportunities for our market.The hybrid Golf and T-Roc combine a tried-and-tested 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, two electric motors and a 1.6kWh battery.VW claims this set-up produces 125kW/309Nm, a jump of 15kW/59kW over the petrol Golf’s 110kW/250Nm max outputs.It also uses about 4.6-litres per 100km of fuel, which is slightly more than Toyota's claim.Hybrid options are becoming increasingly important to brands in Australia as purely petrol powered vehicles are starting to fall foul of Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).The NVES levels fines against carmakers for every gram of CO2 a sold vehicle emits over a certain threshold. This threshold gets lower every year until 2030.The fines can be offset by sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids.Purely petrol cars will soon become prohibitively expensive, with hybrids also attracting moderate fines in the coming years.The NVES is also putting Australia at the front of the queue for international brands to get low emissions or electric vehicles.Volkswagen Australia for years struggled to get its electric cars sold in Europe and other parts of the world, as our market wasn’t considered an emissions critical one that needed these vehicles. This is no longer the case.All this works in favour of Volkswagen bringing its latest hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles here.

The boss of a major dealer group has told CarsGuide how competing forces and the state of the economy is taking its toll on the new car industry despite record sales in 2026.Mark Beitz, the managing director of Bartons Motor Group said the record registration numbers released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries in its monthly VFACTs data wasn’t a true reflection of car sales in June as “excess inventory”, which was building up at an alarming pace on dealer lots gets cleared out.“There were a lot of cars which were already sold months prior being delivered in June, so that accounted for a massive spike, particularly in EV and plug-in hybrids,” he said.“There is an adoption trend for EV, we can see that - so for the first quarter you were seeing that natural sustainable growth in EVs.”But, referencing the wave of attention for electric cars in the last three months that stemmed from high fuel prices due to the war in Iran and Strait of Hormuz crisis, he said while dealer groups had "never seen anything like it" it wasn't a sustainable pace for EV sales in the long run.“People were only buying EVs for a month or so” he said.“There was a lot of aged EV stock in the country, this big surge, the panic buying, really cleared that up - but we sold those cars back in April and what we're seeing in VFACTs is deliveries.”“What we’ve seen since then - in May it started to wane and now new order intake is nothing like what we saw in April.”But with many global stockpiles of fuel, which were released onto the market to ease prices, reportedly set to run thin in the coming months, does Beitz think there could be a renewed rush on EVs and plug-ins?“My feeling is no” he said.“I think as a country what we’ve experienced is what’s going to happen - I don’t feel we’ll run out of fuel, there wasn’t Armageddon like people thought there was going to be, so I don’t see another huge surge. I don’t think we’ll see anything like that second quarter for the rest of the year.”“I think it will instead be an average of the first half of the year for the second half.”He said conditions going forward looked more bleak for the industry, as a combination of factors would make numbers seen in the first six months of 2026 more difficult to replicate going forward.“The industry is seeing some real challenges. The profitability is the lowest it’s ever been - overall the industry has had the lowest return in decades for the first half of the year - that’s unheard of."“There’s a number of factors. The economy is taking its toll - there’s excess inventory everywhere. You’ve only got to drive to the ports, there’s cars everywhere. So there’s an excess inventory issue that’s affecting our ability to retain revenue. Margins have fallen through the floor.”“The other thing which is a massive issue is that there are way too many brands, and only the same amount of buyers. Year-to-date there’s a small growth but it’s bugger all, and 65 per cent of the market is still ICE vehicles, and even there it’s declined.”But despite the intense competition and ultra-low price points coming to the market from new Chinese brands, Beitz was reasonably positive about the survival chances of so-called ‘legacy brands’.“They’ll find a way forward,” he said.“Nissan is a good example, they’ll have a portfolio, which resembles their traditional products like Navara and Patrol, but next year they’ll be bringing across a range of Chinese manufactured options.”He agreed that levels of interest for incoming Chinese-built cars from brands like Nissan seen across automotive media was being replicated by buyer interest at a dealer level.“I think they’re responding but they struggle to move as fast as the Chinese brands are arriving. But legacy brands are coming back, I think they might hold on to where they sit currently."However, he also added their footprint has likely permanently shrunk when it comes to retail space: “It will result in a re-allocation of already limited space for dealers like me.”Despite promising signs for EVs going forward - with many more younger buyers being attracted by lower price points from new brands, Beitz pointed out that non-EV market share is still 75 per cent of the total market, and 78 per cent for his network specifically.He believes combustion vehicles (including plugless hybrids) will continue to make up the majority of the market for years to come.

Toyota is getting serious about off-roading for its big ute. The updated Toyota Tundra hybrid full-size ute has been revealed with a special 'Trailhunter' package to boost its adventuring capabilities in the US.With this package, the car rides on specialist Michelin trail tyres and premium upgraded suspension from 4WD brand ARB. Upgrades under the skin include new off-roading features such as multi-terrain select with traction support, a crawl control and a locking rear differential.The Tundra has sharpened up its look from the outside, with an aggressively-poised stance and front recovery hooks. It has a brighter grille-mounted LED light bar. The ute can be purchased with powerful fog lights to further increase visibility. The Tundra will continue to offer vehicle-to-load capabilities via a 2.4kW inverter, enabling appliances and devices to be powered directly from the car.  Headlining the technology buff inside the cabin is a bigger 14.0-inch central touchscreen.Enhanced software capabilities offer a more intuitive smartphone-like design.This includes customisable home screen widgets and an improved voice assistant. The update also add a built-in dash cam that can monitor and record incidents for up to 20 seconds. Full details of Toyota’s new Tundra will be announced in September ahead of its North American launch.There is no official news yet on its potential Australian future.A spokesperson for Toyota Australia said the brand is always look at global updates for its models, but there is nothing to announce on the Tundra front yet. The Tundra has been on sale in Australia since late 2024 as a rival to other American imports the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Ram 1500.The US-built undergoes an extensive remanufacturing process to convert it to right-hand drive for local roads, mirroring its competitors.The Tundra is an expensive choice in Australia, starting from $155,990, before on-road costs.It is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 plug-less hybrid set-up, producing 326kW and 790Nm.The Tundra has been subject to an aggressive advertising and pricing campaign over the past few months in Australia. It has experienced an improved 2026, with a near 50 per cent sales increase up to June 2026 compared to June 2025.

Nissan’s snappy sports car has been updated and will now be available in sought-after Nismo form with a six-speed manual transmission in Australia.The Nissan Z Nismo is the higher-performance grade of the brand's rear-wheel drive coupe.The new manual Z Nismo will be priced from $95,000, before on-road costs, making it a near $20,000 jump over the standard Z manual.Nissan’s announcement also confirms the automatic Z Nismo is just less than a $1000 more expensive as part of this update, starting at the same $95,000 price tag.Meanwhile, the standard Z coupe starts from $76,800, which is $640 more than it was before. The updated Z range will be available for order from this month, with deliveries beginning in September.It competes in the hotly contested sports car segment against the likes of the Ford Mustang (from $72,990).The Mustang remains the dominant player of the segment, with the Nissan Z trailing its competitors currently.The Z Nismo continues to be powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, producing 309kW and 520Nm, representing an 11kW and 45Nm increase over the standard car. The Z has also received some tweaks as part of the updated range.There are new two-piece front brake rotors, resulting in a 9kg weight reduction. A redesigned front bumper adds 30mm to the car’s length to reduce front lift by 3.3 per cent and drag by 1.0 per cent. There is also a new wireless phone charger standard across all variants, along with a frameless auto-dimming rear view mirror.The new Z range was first revealed at the start of January as part of global preview even at the 2026 Toyota Auto Salon.The car went on sale in Japan recently, ahead of its arrival on Aussie shores. 2027 Nissan Z pricing (before on-road costs - manual a no-cost option)

A new report has shed light on which electric vehicles (EVs) maintain the highest percentage of battery life over time.Swedish car marketplace Carla has published results from a study into battery life of electric cars, using data from 10,000 battery tests on EVs in Sweden between 2022 and 2026.The results may come as a surprise to some, with the best brand for battery health after 10,000km travelled being Kia, and the second best being Hyundai with 96.8 per cent and 95.4 per cent battery health, respectively.The next brands down were premium marques Mercedes-Benz (95 per cent) and BMW (94.5 per cent), with Ford (94.3 per cent) sitting above Geely Group brands Volvo (94.2 per cent) and Polestar (93.7 per cent).Volkswagen Group vehicles took up the next four positions, which in order included Audi (92.9 per cent), Skoda (92.6 per cent), VW (92.4 per cent) and Porsche (90.9 per cent).Tesla, which is often quoted as a brand with impressive battery degradation figures in other studies placed 12th in the Swedish study, with its cars maintaining 90.2 per cent battery health after 10,000km.The grouping of various brands together comes as little surprise given each parent company will source batteries from similar places and use familiar chemistries and heat management methods.Another graph from the same study shows average battery degradation between the first 50,000km (94.39 per cent) and the next 50,000km was negligible, at just over 2 per cent. Average battery health of the 10,000 cars tested by 100,000km was 92.35 per cent.More interesting is the breakdown by model, with the study showing the car with the least overall battery degradation was the Kia Niro EV, which maintained 97.25 per cent of its battery capacity.The Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia EV6 also scored well, with the next model down being the Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2.The popular Tesla Model Y also maintained 92.18 per cent of its battery capacity on average over 10,000km, although ranked 18th in the study, below many VW Group, BMW, and Geely Group products.It is worth noting that this study does not simply transfer across to the Australian market. Many of the EVs delivered to Sweden are built in Europe which often use different battery suppliers to the versions of the cars sold here.In addition, Sweden’s cool climate may produce different results to our hot climate, with different demands placed on temperature management systems, and different pressures placed on batteries while discharging or charging.However, more Australian cars using batteries from Chinese suppliers may actually be an advantage. Lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from CATL (China’s largest battery supplier) are now pervasive across EVs from many brands sold in Australia. The Swedish study compared the performance of these Chinese CATL LFP batteries, Korean LG Chem batteries and two different types of Japanese Panasonic batteries, all in the Tesla Model 3 to control for model differences.The CATL cells had the highest average battery health, maintaining 93.3 per cent, the LG Chem cells were next at 91.5 per cent, and the Panasonic NMC batteries ranked lower at 89.8 and 88.2 per cent respectively.One factor worth keeping in mind is BYD’s lack of a major footprint in Sweden despite launching there in 2022, leaving it off the study. Not only does this exclude BYD from the ranking system, but it also leaves its batteries out.BYD sells its signature LFP ‘Blade’ batteries to many brands for cars sold in Australia, including Kia, KGM, and even entry-level versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.The study confirms several things - battery degradation is often over-stated, with almost all cars maintaining over 90 per cent capacity at the 100,000km mark, and newer chemistries and temperature management systems are having a notable improvement on battery life across all makes and models.Previous stories of cars losing up to 50 per cent of their capacity were often limited to early-generation NMC batteries using air-cooled technology. Almost all new EVs sold, particularly in Australia, use liquid-cooled cells.In other good news for Aussie EV owners and those considering a second hand EV, the Carla study is not the first time EV batteries have performed better than expected when surveyed en-masse.In Australia, auction house Pickles recently shared data based on its battery health scoring which showed EVs with between 80- and 120,000km were maintaining a battery health score of around 91 per cent.

A new performance electric car is coming soon.The Geely Galaxy TT has opened for pre-sale in China, and will be the latest four-door electric sports coupe to hit showrooms.Coupe-style sports cars out of China are surging in popularity as cheaper alternatives to the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-Tron GT off the back of the smash-hit success of the Xiaomi SU7.The Geely Galaxy TT has a front-mounted 180kW motor and a rear-mounted 245kW motor that combine for a total of 425kW.It has a one-button boost mechanism that offers an increased power output for up to 20 seconds. The Galaxy TT can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 210km/h. It is equipped with a 75kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery that has a 650km driving range, according to more generous CLTC standards. The car rides on an 800-volt platform, meaning it can DC fast charge from 10 to 80 per cent in less than 12 minutes. It measures up at 4999mm long, 1919mm wide, 1479mm high, with a wheelbase of  2920mm, so it is a little bigger than a Toyota Camry. The exterior is similar to many of its rivals, showing off a sleek body shape and frameless windows. It comes with 19-inch wheels as standard. The TT’s interior features a 15.4-inch central touchscreen and 10.2-inch digital driver display, along with a 25.6-inch panoramic head-up display. It also includes is also a 50W wireless phone charger and 23-speaker sound system. The Galaxy TT will be a direct competitor to the seriously popular Xiaomi SU7 which sold its first 15,000 units in roughly half an hour earlier this year.The Denza Z9 S electric sedan will provide further competition, with its wagon variant due in Australia before the end of the year. The Galaxy TT is not in Geely’s Australia schedule in the short term, but the brand has demonstrated a methodical approach to introducing models rather than the explosive range expansions of some of its rivals.The TT is priced from 200,000 yuan in China, which is roughly A$42,000. Most Chinese cars carry a roughly 20 per cent premium by the time they arrive in Australia in right-hand drive, making a potential local price somewhere just north of $50,000.This would make it slightly more affordable than the Zeekr 7GT and significantly more affordable than the Denza Z9.The Xiaomi SU7 which it is seemingly designed to target is not headed to Australia in the short term, with the Chinese tech company overwhelmed by demand in its home market.