Articles by Jack Quick

South Korea’s KGM (formerly known as SsangYong) has announced the Australian pricing and specifications of its first all-electric ute ahead of start of sales on December 1, 2025.

The Australian Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is now well and truly in effect and certain carmakers can theoretically profit from the credits that it provides.One of these brands is Polestar, which currently only sells electric vehicles (EVs), as all of its vehicles are under the set CO2 emissions targets.Carmakers that do have a number of new vehicles above the CO2 emissions targets and can’t offset them with new vehicles under the threshold are currently at risk of being fined.These fines currently sit at $100 per gram of CO2 per kilometre for each vehicle sold.As a result, carmakers with credits are able to sell them to other carmakers that will pay fines.Speaking with CarsGuide, Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard praised this method as it incentivises carmakers to invest in low-emissions vehicles.“Yes, so Polestar will sell carbon credits that it collects along the way to brands,” said Maynard.“I think it’s right that brands that aren’t prepared to invest then have to pay brands that are investing .“So we’ll definitely be part of that program.”Although Maynard didn’t disclose any specific carmaker that Polestar has already sold credits to, he did mention that the company will be selective.“We’ll be careful about who we partner with and who we sell to, but we will be taking their money.”This follows a number of carmakers calling for the NVES CO2 target to be tapered more gradually.Earlier this year former Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott also explained there are still major hurdles to overcome local EV takeup.“Just penalising us is not going to deliver the outcomes we need,” said Westcott in July 2025.“The original thinking was that if you penalised us, we’d bring more EVs to the market.”“There’s no shortage of choice, what we lack is positive initiatives. You can give us as many sticks as you like, we need some carrots.”“The bigger challenge with adoption is that we need to have a government which considers the peculiarities of the Australian market. We’re not Norway. We’re not a small country. We don’t have cities that are 40 kilometres apart.“I think the reality we’re looking at today is a lot of brands have dialled back their EV ambitions because they’ve realised that just bringing the cars to the market, you can fill your showroom with EVs but if nobody buys them you’d have to discount those cars to a point where they will be below the cost of production and that’s happening already just to get people to take them.“OEMs realise that to stay alive you have to sell cars - if Australians aren’t buying the EVs then we have to bring combustion and all the other powertrains to market and that will continue to happen despite the penalties because if the demand isn’t there, you haven’t got a business. It’s simple economics.“Every brand has to cover the cost of those penalties to survive and if customers are only buying single digit (percentages) of EVs - everyone is going to be copping penalties.”Although Polestar Australia sales have been growing, the company globally is currently experiencing some massive financial losses and swirling bankruptcy rumours.In fact Polestar, which is currently publicly listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, is at risk of being delisted unless it raises its stock price to US$1 ($1.53) for 10 consecutive days.For context, Polestar’s Nasdaq shares are currently sitting at US$0.52 ($0.80).

Mini's JCW is synonymous for making hardcore versions of the brand's small cars, but does the new Cooper Convertible fare with the hardcore treatment?

Australians certainly love performance cars and this has rung true for Lexus’ latest high-performance offering.

GAC to launch with feature-packed small SUV

Toyota has released more details about the coming all-electric HiLux BEV ahead of its Australian launch in the first half of 2026.

Toyota has locked in yet another battery electric vehicle (BEV) for Australia.The Japanese carmaker has confirmed it’ll launch the new C-HR+ during 2027.No further details have been confirmed just yet.This forthcoming addition to the local Toyota BEV line-up follows the announcement of the HiLux BEV dual-cab ute, which is set to arrive locally in the first half of 2026.The C-HR+ will also follow after the introduction of the updated bZ4X which is due in December 2025, and the larger bZ4X Touring due in the first half of 2026.This new electric C-HR+ will sit alongside the existing C-HR hybrid line-up, offering people who want a smaller Toyota SUV an electric offering.The Toyota C-HR+ was first revealed in Europe in March 2025. It’s built on the same e-TNGA platform as the bZ4X and bZ4X Touring, as well as the Subaru Solterra and Lexus RZ, among others.There is a Subaru version of the C-HR+ called the Uncharted. At this stage this car hasn’t been locked in for an Australian launch.The C-HR+ measures in at 4520mm long, 1870mm wide and 1595mm tall, with a 2750mm wheelbase. This makes it around 160mm longer than the C-HR hybrid, despite the two SUVs sharing similar designs.Globally there are two electric powertrain configurations and two batteries available.The entry-level model has a single, front-mounted electric motor that produces 123kW and is fed by a 57.7kWh battery pack.There’s also a larger 77kWh battery pack available in the front-wheel drive version, which bumps the power output up to 165kW.At the top of the line-up is a dual-motor, all-wheel drive set-up with a total system output of 252kW. Toyota claims this model can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.2 seconds.Depending on the trim level, the C-HR+ has a claimed electric range of up to 600km, according to WLTP testing.11kW AC charging is available as standard on most models, however 22kW AC charging is available on certain higher-trim models. 150kW DC fast-charging is offered across the line-up.

Audi has announced it’s bringing the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of its Q5 mid-size SUV back to Australia in new-generation guise.

China’s Leapmotor has rolled out another software update for its C10 battery electric (BEV) and range-extender (REEV) mid-size SUV.

HiLux goes hydrogen!