Articles by James Cleary

The onslaught of new challenger brands and models coming to the Aussie new-car market is not slowing down. And this five-seat range-extender EV 4WD, the Deepal G318, is on the cards for local launch. CarsGuide had the opportunity to take a preview drive.

You may have thought the retirement of Audi’s R8 in late 2021 marked the end of the German brand’s latest supercar era. But if reports out of the UK overnight are accurate, the mid-engine machine is set to make a spectacular comeback, with a twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain replacing the previous version’s howling atmo V10.

Volkswagen continues to expand its ID. battery-electric vehicle portfolio with an overnight reveal of the precursor to its upcoming small electric car weapon, the ID. 1.Dubbed ID. Every1, the small, five-door, four-seat concept hatch is pitched as a vision of “an electric 20,000-euro Volkswagen from Europe for Europe”.On current exchange rates a direct conversion of €20,000 equates to $34,000, which even with an import/distribution price bump, would put the newcomer in the same ball park as the mid-range BYD Dolphin Dynamic ($36,890) and GWM Ora (from $35,990), while dramatically undercutting the likes of the Fiat 500e, Merc EQA, Mini Aceman, Polestar 2, Smart #1, Tesla Model 3 and Volvo EX30, all of which live in the $55–$65K starting price band.The eventual ID. 1 production car is scheduled for a 2027 introduction and Volkswagen said it will be one of nine new models to arrive by then, including four electric cars based on its flexible ‘MEB’ electric platform. A production version of the brand’s ID. 2all concept from early 2023 is already on track for launch as the ID. 2 “in the 25,000-euro class” in 2026. And VW said it and the ID. 1 are part of its new ‘Electric Urban Car Family’ of MEB-based front-wheel drive offerings.Designed with the aim of capturing the essence of its VW up! city car predecessor, the ID. Every1 measures just under 3.9m long which puts it between the up! (3.6m) and the current Polo (4.1m) in terms of overall size.A new motor in its nose (with outputs yet to be confirmed) is powered by a small, low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and target driving range is 250km. A simple torsion beam rear suspension design also frees up space for a useful 305-litre boot capacity.The sparse interior design looks close to production-ready with digital displays neatly integrated into a striking wrap-around dash treatment.Despite the production car's ‘from Europe for Europe’ ambition there’s little doubt the ID. 1 will be on Volkswagen Australia’s wish list.And when asked if the car is a likely prospect for local sale a Volkswagen Group Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide, “Volkswagen is committed to electrification starting with the Touareg R PHEV, and the fully electric ID. 4, ID. 5 and ID. Buzz. "We will actively seek further product opportunities given Volkswagen’s significant investment in next generation electrified vehicles,” they said.

Deepal launched its presence in the Australian new car market this year with the small-medium S07 electric SUV. And now the brand is adding to its local portfolio with the smaller S05. Offered in battery electric (BEV) and extended range EV (EREV) form in its Chinese domestic market, it's coming here in the second half of 2025. CarsGuide was invited to take a preview drive.

In reviewing Deepal’s just-released S07 mid-size EV SUV CarsGuide’s Andrew Chesterton called the newcomer’s active (crash-avoidance) safety systems “the single biggest drawback of the Deepal experience” defining them as “the most annoying (and) infuriating” he had ever come across. 

Hot on the heels of its recently introduced mid-size S07 EV SUV, Deepal Australia has confirmed it will be joined by two new models in the second half of this year - the smaller S05 SUV and category-bending E07, the latter combining key attributes of a five-seat SUV with a convertible ute rear end.

Deepal is one of many new challenger brands striving for a foothold in the Aussie new-car market, with the S07 SUV only just launched. Now we've had a preview of one of its next models to arrive, scheduled for the second of 2025; the quirky E07, a combination five-seat SUV/ute.

Kia has used its second-ever global EV Day, held at the Tarraco Arena in Tarragona, Spain, to launch three new concept and production pure-electric models, with the headline act being the much-anticipated EV4 sedan and (Europe-only) hatch.

LDV has addressed a significant specification shortcoming in its T60 4WD dual-cab ute by upgrading its braked trailer towing capacity from 3000kg to a more category competitive 3500kg (750kg unbraked).

Believe it or not, there was a time when Tesla was nothing more than an automotive curiosity.From 2008 to 2012 it produced less than 2500 fairly rudimentary Lotus Elise-based Roadsters. And believe me, despite snappy acceleration, you couldn’t really use it (especially with any enthusiasm) because its range was so limited. Launch into more than a couple of full-blooded acceleration runs and suddenly you’re not getting home. But as the first-generation Roadster left the Tesla stage the Model S emerged to change everything. A sleek, vastly more serious, practical and liveable mid-size sedan, it became the ‘must have’ for early electric car adopters in the USA and soon, multiple export markets.Following the S with the Model X large SUV, smaller Model 3 sedan, Model Y medium SUV and Cybertruck pick-up, Tesla grew into the global phenomenon we know today.And that expansion, fuelled by a seemingly insatiable, but largely unforeseen appetite for battery-electric vehicles, sent shockwaves through car company boardrooms around the world.Caught with their research and development pants down, everyone from Ford and GM to Honda and Nissan, BMW and Mercedes-Benz hit the FOMO scramble alarm, terrified they were about to miss a boat that five minutes ago they didn’t even know was at the wharf.Most of them had dabbled with electric propulsion over time, but suddenly an EV strategy arms race began to build momentum, with bold claims about how quickly individual brands would not only introduce a production EV or two, but become a 100 per cent zero tailpipe emissions maker.Cue massive investment in design and engineering as jurisdictions from local and regional to national and multi-national (hello, European Union) began to jump onboard and formally squeeze the life out of the internal combustion engine through a combination of carbon emissions and vehicle sales regulations.Speaking of the EU, it pretty rapidly demanded that EV sales in its member states account for around 80 per cent of new car sales in 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035.But even outside that group, the Norwegian parliament became the poster child for government incentives, weighting its VAT and purchase tax on new cars dramatically in favour of EVs.The result, in exceptionally short order, was around 90 per cent of new vehicle sales in Norway consisting of EVs. The Chinese sleeping giant began to fall in love with BEV technology and everything was pointing to this seemingly unstoppable, electrically-powered juggernaut gaining world domination.But then… that fundamental element, consumer demand, began to soften.The appetite of hungry, cashed-up early adopters had seemingly been satisfied while many in the next wave of ‘EV curious’ and less tech savvy buyers hesitated.Despite an influx of new brands and models, purchase pricing remains relatively high and charging infrastructure, while much-improved, is still patchy. Even on a fast charger, ‘topping up’ an EV takes a while and over time hybrid has emerged as the preferred stepping stone to full electrification.Sales of pure-EVs are still predicted to increase in years to come, but the rate of uptake is now significantly slower than first thought.The UK’s 2030 ‘ICE Ban’ has been shifted back five years and in the USA zero-emission mandates look to be headed for a more ‘gradual’ application and other countries are making similar moves towards regulatory relaxation.So, which auto brands have publicly noted a course correction. A cynic might say a shift in focus from saving the planet to championing consumer choice!     Here’s our breakdown of where the key players currently stand on the transition from ICE to BEV.