Articles by Jack Quick

There are more and more Chinese car brands entering the Australian new car market seemingly every day.

The Mahindra XUV3XO has been approved for sale in Australia ahead of its imminent local launch. Measuring in at under 4.0m long, 1.8m wide and 1.6m tall, this light SUV will rival the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Kia Stonic, Mazda CX-3 and Toyota Yaris Cross, among others. According to government approval documents, this Indian-produced SUV has been approved for sale in three trim levels – AX3L, AX5L and AX7L. All three of these trim levels will be powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine producing 82kW of power and be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This means we’re getting the weakest of the engine options offered. In India there’s a more-powerful version of this 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that produces 96kW/260Nm, as well as a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 85kW/300Nm. None of the manual transmission option will be offered either. According to the approval documents, the XUV3XO has a tare mass of about 1400kg and has a braked towing capacity of 750kg. Payload is also about 400kg. There is little information regarding what separates the three trim levels, but the AX3L and AX5L get 16-inch wheels wrapped in 205/65 tyres, and the flagship AX7L gets 17-inch wheels wrapped in 215/55 tyres. All XUV3XO examples have MacPherson front suspension, however, unlike Indian versions of the XUV3XO which have torsion beam rear suspension, the Australian-specification versions are approved for sale with multi-link rear suspension. At this stage Mahindra Australia hasn’t confirmed pricing of the XUV3XO range, though it’s expected to start around $25,000 before on-road costs. Exterior features are likely to include single- and dual-tone paint, alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers, a small rear spoiler and roof rails. Inside, the XUV3XO is likely to carry synthetic leather upholstery, twin 10.25-inch displays for the central multimedia display and digital driver’s display, keyless entry and push-button start. Safety features include six airbags, a surround-view camera, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warning. The Mahindra XUV3XO is a facelifted version of the XUV300, which was never offered in Australia. It’s built on the same platform as the KGM Tivoli (formerly SsangYong Tivoli), which was sold in Australia from 2018 to 2020, when stock of the then-current model dried up.

Mazda revealed its Chinese-built EZ-60 electric (EV) and range-extender (REEV) SUV last month with limited details, but now more information on the car’s EV powertrain has been confirmed.

Nissan is still wading through its financial turmoil, but is reportedly still working on a new GT-R to replace the R35-generation model that finished production last year. As reported by Auto Express, this new GT-R will form part of a revitalised Nismo high-performance car line-up. The Japanese carmaker is reportedly focusing on Nismo, as well as Patrol and Juke as three key nameplates to focus rebuilding its brand around. “I see a future for Nismo. It’s very clear,” said Nissan AMIEO Region Vice President Marketing & Mobility, Arnaud Carpentier to Auto Express. “We will put this in the centre of the brand… We have Nismo, Patrol and Juke. “Those strong nameplates for the brand are the equity. This is how we thrill our customers, so it will for sure come.” Mr Carpentier didn’t detail exactly what the new Nismo line-up will look like, but did confirm a new GT-R is part of the plans. “There are people working on this,” said Mr Carpentier to Auto Express. “When, how, honestly, this we don’t know. But today, we don’t just need to make a sports car, but to do one with a powertrain that we foresee in the coming years. “If it is electric or electrified, it needs to remain a sports car. “ if you end up with the same performance as an EV SUV, this is an issue... We need to reinvent the notion of a sports car.” At this stage it’s unclear whether the R36-generation GT-R will be fully electric. In 2023 the Japanese carmaker revealed the wild Hyper Force concept which previewed an all-electric GT-R. It was powered by a dual-motor setup producing over 1000kW of power. These electric motors were fed by a solid-state battery pack. Previous reports indicated that this new GT-R will be released during 2028 alongside when Nissan planned to produce solid-state batteries. Given the financial turmoil, it’s now unclear if this timeframe is off.

It has been almost eight years since the local manufacturing of cars ceased, but one company is looking to bring it back. Lightspeed Motor Company is wanting to set up an Australian-based manufacturing operation for the road-legal and lightweight Ariel Atom sports car and Nomad off-roader under licence and with the support from the UK parent company. It has already set up a “partnership” that sees it have “direct access” to Ariel’s specifications, tooling and quality control systems. This Melbourne-based company, co-founded by Jonathan Krogdahl and Alex Knott, is currently in its pre-launch phase and is in the early stages of fundraising. It claims to have a “powerhouse” team of engineers, designers and automotive engineers with “decades of experience in high-performance vehicles and advanced manufacturing”. It also claims to have taken over 4000 expressions of interest and has “dozens” of confirmed orders with deposits taken. You’re already able to buy an Ariel Atom and Nomad in Australia, but it needs to be imported from the UK. Sydney-based Road and Track is currently the British lightweight sports car company’s official distributor in Australia and New Zealand. Pricing for these imported Ariel models isn’t publicly listed, but in 2024 the Atom 4 was priced from $179,990 before on-roads. What Lightspeed Motor Company sees as its point of difference, besides the fact it’ll build these cars in Australia, is it allows for them to be built faster and “reduce costs”. At this stage the company doesn’t appear to have locked in plans for a production facility just yet, though it claims it could use Melbourne as a “strategic manufacturing and export hub”. This could see the Ariel Atom and Nomad be sold across the wider Asia Pacific region. Given Lightspeed Motor Company is still in the early stages of fundraising, it’s unclear when or if local production will commence. This start-up isn't alone in reinvigorating the Aussie auto manufacturing since the last VF-generation Holden Commodore rolled off the production line in 2017. Many other carmakers previously produced cars in Australia, including Chrysler, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen. Walkinshaw Automotive Group has now pivoted to converting left-hand drive like the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Yukon, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra, among others, to right-hand drive locally and have a considerably larger workforce than Holden-backed HSV ever did. It also still helps design and engineer special versions of cars as a third party for carmakers, much like how Premcar developed and upfits the Navara Warrior and Patrol Warrior for Nissan locally. The Australian truck and bus manufacturing industry is still up and running. There have been a wide array of Australian small-scale car manufacturers that have popped up, disappeared as soon as they arrive, or have gone radio silent. It’s unclear where Lightspeed Motor Company will fall into this. One example is Elfin, which is an Australian small-scale car manufacturer that has a rich history in motor racing. It produced a wide range of sports cars and in the early 2000s produced cars like the Elfin MS8 Streamliner, MS8 Clubman and T5 Clubman using GM-sourced powertrains. Walkinshaw Performance previously owned the rights to this brand but it was subsequently sold to luxury car dealer Young Timers Garage in 2023. Its new owners have said it plans to restart Elfin car production, but this hasn’t eventuated yet.

Nissan has officially revealed its new, sixth-generation Micra ahead of its launch in European markets later this year.

XPeng has revealed a new version of its Mona M03 electric sedan in China and it could be bound for an Australian launch if the company’s local importer has its way.

Toyota has globally revealed the new, sixth-generation RAV4 mid-size SUV ahead of its local introduction in the first half of 2026.

Toyota is gearing up to globally reveal a new-generation version of Australia’s best-selling SUV. The new, sixth-generation Toyota RAV4 will be revealed on May 21 and ahead of this the company has detailed some final teaser images that show some of the car’s exterior design. Digital artist Evren Özgün Spy Sketch has given us a glimpse of what it could look like in the above render. It has a new hammerhead shark-like front-end design that’s similar to what the new Toyota Camry and C-HR gets. There’s also a new tailgate design that features more prominent ‘RAV4’ badging and a full-width blacked-out section where the LED tail-lights live. In addition to the regular version of the RAV4, it appears Toyota will reveal a GR Sport version as in the teaser images it has a more prominent rear spoiler and a front-end design similar to the recently detailed Corolla Cross GR Sport. Toyota has also teased a more off-road-focused version with all-terrain tyres and roof rails, though this isn’t included in Toyota Australia’s set of imagery, so it’s unlikely to come locally. While Toyota is claiming the new RAV4 is an all-new generation, it appears to be a heavy reskin of the current model. The brand followed a very similar formula with the new Camry. These latest official teaser images follow recent ones of the interior. It showed the new RAV4 will have a blockier interior design with a large touchscreen multimedia screen, a sizeable digital driver display, head-up display and a stubby gear selector. At this stage Toyota hasn’t detailed what will power the new RAV4, but it’s expected this will be one of the biggest changes as it’ll feature the brand’s new series of hybrid engines. A 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with hybrid boost making up to 200kW seems likely to find its way into the RAV4, which is a big jump over the current 2.5-litre hybrid’s 160kW. A punchier 2.0-litre turbo could be on the cards, too, potentially for the GR Sport. The new RAV4 will likely get a more efficient electric motor and battery system, too, helping drop fuel use below the current RAV4 Hybrid AWD’s 4.8L/100km rating. There will likely be a new version of the RAV4 PHEV, called the RAV4 Prime in North America, though it’s unclear whether this will come to Australia. At this stage the new, sixth-generation Toyota RAV4 is due to go on sale in 2026, where it’ll battle the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and Kia Sportage Hybrid, as well as the coming Mazda CX-5 Hybrid. This comes as Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, told CarsGuide earlier this year the RAV4 might be the best selling vehicle in the nation moving forward. “It may be, and I stress maybe, that an SUV could rise to the top of the national sales charts in the next year or two, and just maybe that SUV will be a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid,” he said. The RAV4 was the second best-selling car overall in 2024, and so far for the first four months of 2025 it has overtaken the Ford Ranger as the best seller year-to-date.

Tesla has quietly increased the range of its entry-level Model 3 electric sedan for no extra charge.