Articles by Laura Berry

Australia will begin testing Artificial Intelligence intersections with traffic lights that can see you coming and change to green.The AI traffic light test will be the first of its kind and will be trialled on a small insertion in Queensland’s Moreton Bay.The system by Austrian traffic technology company SWARCO is currently in use in Denmark, and while the first Australian test is small, a larger version will start testing in Brisbane later this year.The intersection chosen for the AI traffic light test will be the junction of Paper Avenue and Moreton Parade in the suburb of Petrie in Moreton Bay.While not a tiny intersection the junction isn’t on main transport routes and will allow a fairly safe environment to see how the technology handles regular, but light traffic.The first testing in Moreton bay will start in September, 2026.In Australia currently, traffic lights work on sensors embedded in the road that detect waiting traffic and work on timers. It’s the same automated system that’s been in place since the 1970s and while it’s extremely reliable and safe, it’s also not flexible enough to respond to traffic needs. The system being tested in Moreton Bay will use camera sensors to provide live data to intelligent software that can manage traffic flow at intersections. The AI will not only be able to see traffic, but will be able to identify all types of road users from buses, trucks and cars to motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians.The system learns how the traffic flows over the day and is important specifically for that intersection and it will react autonomously depending on the situation.This means you won’t be left waiting for a green light at an empty intersection late at night. Instead the traffic lights know it's empty and can see you approaching and flick to green to let you through so you won’t even have to stop.The same goes for pedestrians, with the system seeing you approach and ensuring a safe time for you to cross.   AI traffic lights can also recognise emergency vehicles and help clear the way for them.The test in Moreton Bay will run from September 2026 and finish in 2029, but later this year a larger $15m trial will begin in Brisbane.The Brisbane trial will encompass road corridors, not just an individual intersection. This is where AI systems become even more useful in managing traffic flow with intersections effectively all being able to communicate with each other. Other states are also currently trialling AI but not on the same scale, with NSW testing thermal imaging and camera systems for cyclists, while LIDAR systems are also being developed to help better manage road use.Some European countries have already adopted the AI traffic systems including Denmark, while specific locations in the United States have recently started using intelligent intersections too. 

Hyundai now fully owns one of the world’s most advanced humanoid robot makers - Boston Dynamics - but don’t expect to be able to buy a Hyundai robot friend soon.In June United States robotics company Boston Dynamics became 100 per cent owned by Hyundai Motor Group after it bought SoftBank’s remaining 9.65 per cent share.Boston Dynamics has long been developing advanced robotics and you’d absolutely know its work.There’s Spot the robot guard dog, which can eerily open doors with its disturbing ‘mouth hand’ and runaround autonomously armed with sensors that can detect and identify intruders.But it’s Atlas, the humanoid robot, which is the company’s flagship. Atlas is 1.9m tall, weighs 90kg and is a fully-electric AI-powered robot that can lift enormously heavy objects, run and even dance.There’s nothing worse than a dancing robot. I don’t know about you, but a robot that can instantly do something humans spend their life trying to master is worrying. But I digress.  The Softbank buyout now means Hyundai can do whatever it wants with the Boston Dynamics company, including mass production and commercialisation of the robots. And that’s exactly what Hyundai plans to do, but don’t expect your next Hyundai Santa Fe to come with its own robot, not unless one has escaped the factory where the cars are made.See, Hyundai’s plan is to replace its human workforce in its car production factories with robots. Yes, robots are already used in areas like spray painting and transporting parts around plants, but in Hyundai’s case it will be large scale and in roles currently performed by humans.In the US, where Hyundai and sister company Kia build several models, 25,000 humanoid robots will be deployed starting in 2028.This will be just the start.Hyundai hopes to mass produce up to 30,000 robots per year and will see deployment to all its factories.When Hyundai first bought a controlling 80 per cent stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021 I interviewed executives at Hyundai’s HQ in Korea asking them why the car company needed a robot company. The answer was a typically general response.“Hyundai Motor Group strategically aims to transform itself from a conventional automobile manufacturer to a Smart Mobility Solution Provider,” we were told by Hyundai’s HQ.“To propel this transformation, the Group has invested substantially in the development of future technologies, including robots, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and smart factories. The Group considers robotics as one of the most important pillars to transform into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider.”What Hyundai didn’t tell me was that the best thing about humanoid robots is that it means you don’t have to change your current factory design which is set up for humans.Hyundai says the robots will first start in the US at its Georgia factory in 2028, and then Kia’s Georgia plant in 2029.Hyundai says its robot roll-out will take place in phases with the first being centred on logistics and parts sequencing, before moving onto a second phase which will be more complex jobs such as assembly.The plan doesn’t begin and end with the US. Hyundai wants to deploy robots to all its factories and as you can imagine this hasn’t gone down well with workers who fear they will lose their jobs.The powerful Korean Metal Workers Union has 180,000 members and last week voted to strike over the threat of a robot workforce."We are concerned about job security because of robots," a union member told the Financial Times. "News reports and videos showing robots becoming more dexterous make workers nervous about the future."The union has demanded that no robot will be allowed on the factory floor without its approval and a tentative agreement between Hyundai Motor Group and the union had been drawn up with the details currently being finalised.Hyundai has argued robots were necessary, citing Korea's aging workforce and shrinking labour market. The unions argue something quite different, and say wages and other working agreements aren't being met.n a statement in January this year Hyundai said it would be “partnering humans with co-working robots”.  “Robots designed to assist and collaborate with people starting from manufacturing environments, performing hazardous and dangerous, as well as repetitive tasks,” the statement reads.I think we’ll look back on statements like this in a decade to come and wonder if we really believed it at the time, because of course robots will take over almost all duties in a factory completely. We’ve seen AI replace hundreds of thousands of people in the tech industry and I think we’d be naive to think AI robotics won’t move into physically demanding roles once performed by humans.The loss of knowledge and skills possessed by humans is bad but more importantly people need jobs in order to feed their families and, you know, actually live.But who am I kidding, Henry Ford probably would have replaced his human workforce overnight if there were humanoid robots in 1913.Besides, so much of a vehicle’s production is already done through automation from welding to spray painting. It’s only in the final assembly process that humans are involved to a much greater degree due to the small spaces and dexterity needed to install wiring and to put the interior together.But this will likely be taken over in a decade or so by robots who can carry out these duties just as well.Quality control at car plants is currently 100 per cent done by humans, but again... this could change, too.And just to be fair, the rise of humanoid robots in car manufacturing isn’t just a Hyundai thing, it’s an entire auto industry thing. It is also just a tiny part of global robotics and AI phenomenon that will affect all areas of business and our lives.I find it all worrying, especially as a parent of kids who are thinking about jobs and careers. Perhaps human-made will have a resurgence and we'll value anything created by people even more?

Chinese car maker Geely says it’s about to smash the 5.5-minute electric car charging time record with a battery breakthrough, but there’s a catch.Geely has announced it has developed a 1000V electric architecture for its vehicles which will allow charging from 10-80 per cent in less than 5.5 minutes, as it chases BYD and its advanced 'flash charging' technology.EV batteries can only charge as quickly as the vehicles electrical components will allow it to. Currently the standard is 400V and you'll find this in vehicles such as Tesla's Model Y and Toyota's bZ4X. Some car makers offer higher voltage systems with up to 800V architecture such as in the Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Zeekr 7X.Think of voltage like water pressure, the higher the voltage the quicker charge can be added to a battery with less current. Of course all of the pipes (electrical hardware) need to be upgraded to handle the pressure.Currently the limit is about 900V but BYD and Geely are racing to get to 1000V and beyond.Nobody likes to wait, and right now the long EV charging times are one of the main barriers for consumers looking at buying an electric car.The race is on to bring EV charging down to the same time it takes to fill up the tank of a petrol or diesel vehicle which is approximately two minutes using a standard service station fuel pump and 65L tank.Geely says its 1000V electrical architecture will allow cars to top-up from 10-80 percent in under 5.5 minutes. That’s a record for the industry. Currently BYD is the title holder with its flash charging technology which it claims can fill from 10-70 percent in five minutes.Sure, it’s not quite the two minutes it takes to fill up with petrol, but with both brands in this quick-charging dogfight it won’t be long before one of them, or another brand (Chery perhaps) is claiming the achievement.The catch is that achieving these record fast changing times requires more than just the car with 1000V architecture and EV owners already know what we’re talking about - the charger itself.Geely is beginning to roll out 1500kW chargers in China and it’s only by using these ultra fast chargers with the 1000V architecture that these cars can achieve the claimed charging times.Typically in Australia public fastest chargers range from 50kW-350kW with 400kW now also appearing.Even in China 1500kW chargers aren’t at very common and filling at under 5.5 minutes is not going to be accessible to everyone. Geely appears to be future-proofing its cars to ensure their cars can take advantage when the infrastructure arrives.  Currently in Australia Geely uses 400V architecture in the EX5 mid-sized SUV but it also owns Zeekr and the 7X mid-sized electric SUV has an 800V system.According to Zeekr the 7X will fill from 10-80 percent in 13 minutes if a 400kW charger is used.

Suzuki has revealed its tiny electric e-Sky kei car and confirms its arrival in the United Kingdom, opening the door to its possible arrival in Australia to rival the Honda Super- One EV.The Suzuki e-Sky was first shown in concept form at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show and the production version has barely changed apart from the LED lighting across the front of the car.Suzuki hasn’t fully revealed the e-Sky’s specifications yet but Japanese media are reporting it will have a single electric motor and a range of up to 310km.At just 3395mm end to end the four-door e-Sky is Suzuki’s first electric kei car.Japan’s kei cars have a passionate global cult following. Loved for being so little, cute and boxy, kei cars have their diminutive proportion due to Japan’s push for low-cost, space efficient transportation after World War II. Now these tiny vehicles are given tax exemptions in Japan as long as they meet size and power output regulations. The maximum length of a kei can be 3.4m long, and so the Suzuki e-Sky just qualifies. Honda’s Super-One, however, is 3580mm in length and so isn’t technically a kei car, although the brand says it is “kei-car inspired."The Suzuki e-Sky has been confirmed for the UK and will arrive there next year. This is a good sign for Australia because it confirms right-hand drive markets outside of just Japan.However, Australia is not a big consumer of tiny cars and not even as much of a fan of just small cars as the UK is and while there’s a healthy fanbase here in Australia for kei-cars such as the Honda N-Box, most are imported privately.Still CarsGuide has put in a call to Suzuki Australia to see if the e-sky might be considered for local release. Suzuki Australia has yet to respond to our inquiry.As for how much it would cost? Well in the UK the e-Sky is  expected to come in under A$40,000, although most cars sold in both Australia and the UK are more affordable here.In Australia one of the smallest and cheapest electric cars is the BYD Atto 1 which is 3.99m long and lists for $23,990, while the Honda Super-One which is set to arrive in Australia imminently and is more direct competition for the Suzuki is priced from $36,900 drive-away.Suzuki has just one electric car in its Australian range - the e Vitara. The e Vitara is a battery electric version of Suzuki’s popular small SUV and starts from $49,990 drive-away. 

Car makers are always coming up with new features in the name of making our driving time more comfortable, convenient or safe but sometimes the result is the opposite.Yep, as car reviewers there’s a list of well known, very annoying features that we could really do without.So here’s a quick collection of the most annoying new car features... and please feel free to add your own to this never ending list. Massive glass roofs look amazing in a car dealer’s showroom but on the road during an Australian summer they make you feel like a rotisserie chicken - not to mention the dangers of sun exposure in this part of the world. Thankfully some roofs have retractable shades and some have decently thick ones to cut down the light and heat. The Tesla Model Y has an expansive fixed glass roof and no screen to shield its occupants from that furnace in the sky.This sounds super irresponsible to anybody who hasn't experienced the nightmarish intrusiveness of modern safety alerts that are supposedly designed to reduce speeding and distraction, but trust us..We’re talking about speed warning alarms, which activate at 2km/h over the posted speed limit (often falsely), distraction alerts that are triggered by the driver looking out for pedestrians and overly aggressive lane keeping assistance that feels like a sudden arm wrestle. The systems in our opinion become potentially a safety issue in themselves.Kia and Hyundai have been criticised in the past especially for over zealous safety alert systems, but pretty much every new car now has them - some worse than others.Do you know how many people used to say, “I wish my car’s door handles weren’t so easy to use, I want something that’s awkward and confusing to operate, something so flimsy it feels like it might snap off in my hand”? I’ll tell you - nobody.With the advent of electric vehicles came door handles that retracted flush with the car’s body to improve aerodynamics and in turn energy efficiency, which is all very good but it came at the price of functionality. Is it really necessary - I mean you can’t tell me regular door handles create that much drag?  Possibly the worst door handles I’ve ever encountered are on the Cadillac Optic. They’re as thin as a pencil and make opening the Cadillac super heavy doors ridiculously difficult.Another case of re-inventing something that wasn’t broken, the camera wing mirror is more a case of car designers saying "look at what we can do" rather than actually improving upon the simplicity and effectiveness of a piece of shiny glass.Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Gensis GV60 can be had with camera mirrors - yeah, no thanks!Can’t wait for my bathroom mirror to be replaced by a camera and a screen.Anyone that’s needed to get something from the boot in a hurry because it's raining but had to stand there getting soaked waiting for the electric tailgate to slowly open, will tell you that it would have been quicker to open it themselves. And as for the gesture tailgates that require a swoosh with your foot top open - they seem to work about 50 per cent of the time.  An all-time low for me and gesture tailgates was when I was trying to take a Christmas tree out from the boot of a Mazda CX-70 and somehow my moving foot told it to start shutting without me realising it until it closed down on me. The car basically ate me alive. Car companies have tried to integrate digital assistants into their cars to carry out functions such as opening the windows or lowering the cabin temperature.The problem is getting the voice assistant to listen to you, understand you or even do anything is almost impossible which is a lot like being the parent of a teenager.Myself and the rest of the motoring media are to blame for encouraging car companies to do away with easy-to-use buttons and dials and move all the functions to a screen that forces the driver to step through three pages of a menu just to turn the climate control down. Yes, for years we praised cabins with “minimalist interiors” and “cleanly designed, button-less dash boards”. Well careful what you wish for, because now all I want is a knob for the stereo volume.  The Geely EX5 has a very cleanly designed button-less dash, which isn't a good thing after all.Some cars play little musical greetings when you sit down in the driver's seat. I find these as enjoyable to listen to as those birthday cards that play songs.As with door handles and wing mirrors, steering wheels never needed re-inventing but again and again car companies try to do so. Peugeot, Subaru and Geely have dabbled with not-round steering wheels but the worst we've seen is possibly the yoke in the new Lexus RZ550e F Sport. Seriously car companies - stop it. Ok there’s so many more features I loathe but let's end on a really good one - tyre puncture repair kits. These usually involve a small compressor and canister of goo which is used to fill a flat tyre sealing the puncture and have you on your way.Sounds great, but it isn't. I’ve been on the side of the road in the bush with a puncture and used the repair kit only to watch all the good squirt out through the hole in my tyre sealing nothing but my opinions on how useless these devices can be.

It has never been a better time to buy an SUV with seven-seats, with a range of options across all price ranges.But if you're looking for a seven-seater, but don’t want to spend any more than about $45K? We’ve got you covered.Here are the five most affordable seven-seater SUVs on sale in Australia.The MG QS is last on our list for affordability but first on our list for practicality thanks to its giant five-metre length, which offers more third-row room than the others here. The QS is a proper larger SUV, while the others here are on the smaller side of large.The price of $46,990 is a drive-away offer too, so the value is still outstanding. We have tested the MG QS and liked the roominess, the hefty list of standard features and the 10-year warranty.  Things we didn't like include the fairly small petrol engine, which has to work hard to carry this big car around. We also felt the cabin stying looks great, but some of the materials felt a bit cheap. The Mitsubishi Outlander has been around for decades and has been a stalwart in driveways of Aussie families. A low list price of $42,540 for this entry grade is also good to see. We tested the Outlander and liked its value for money and good looks, but found the third row to be cramped and the CVT transmission to offer lacklustre performance. The Nissan X-Trail is not only one of the original mid-sized SUVs that’s been around for more than 25 years but for a long time it was one of just a few that offered seven seats.The new X-Trail is one of the best SUVs here and it's wonderful to see it priced so affordable at a list price of $41,305.Of course we have tested it and liked the ride comfort and good handling, but we noted that the spare wheel is under the third row seats and little things like the sound system quality weren’t as good as some rivals.Chery has returned to Australia with an array of excellent vehicles and the Tiggo 8 is no exception. At just over 4.7m long the Tiggo 8 is classed as a large SUV, although that’s still not huge.We’ve tested it and liked the quality of the interior, the amount of features for this $41,990 drive-away price and the good ride. We prefer the super hybrid version of this SUV, which offers better fuel economy although the price tag is more than this petrol version.Indian car maker Mahindra makes a pretty compelling proposition here with the XUV 700, which is our cheapest seven-seater SUV at $36,990 drive-away for the AX7 entry grade.The AX7 is considered a mid-sized SUV at just under 4.7m long.We’ve tested it and liked the punchy 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, the mountain of standard features for the price, but felt the interior quality could be better and the ride and handling wasn’t exactly great.

Land Rover’s Defender Dakar is a road-legal version of its hardcore 2026 Dakar Rally racing Defender Octa complete with a “flight mode” to ensure perfect landings after doing jumps.In another case of completely-unnecessary-but-we-want-it-desperately-anyway, Land Rover is bringing us a road-going  - or anywhere-going - version of its Dakar Rally D7X-R racing SUV.The Defender Octa is an already bonkers high-performance off-road beast with its 4.4-litre V8 engine (the same found in BMW’s M5) making 367kW and 750Nm, outstanding four-wheel drive capability combined with mind boggling on-road dynamics, but the Defender Dakar goes more berserk.“We’ve pushed our engineers to go further than they’ve ever gone before,” Defender Managing Director Mark Cameron said. “First, we evolved Defender OCTA into D7X‑R and then we asked: could we make the Dakar Rally‑winning D7X‑R road legal? The result is the Defender Dakar.”The Defender Dakar keeps the same V8 engine, transmission and body architecture as the D7X-R and adds a 35-inch all-terrain tyre package with unique 20-inch forged wheels.The ride height is lifted with coil suspension and Bilstein advanced dampers and the track is widened. There’s new modes for sand dunes and gravel, plus there’s flight mode.Flight mode is a sophisticated system that detects the moment the Defender Dakar becomes airborne over hilly terrain. Then, instead of letting the wheels spin freely in mid-air, which will send an enormous amount of shock force through the transmission upon landing, the torque to the wheels is calculated and controlled to ensure a smooth touchdown.     Holding the driver and co-pilot snugly in place are race seats with an optional four point harness. The Defender Dakar is a 2+2 seater with storage for race helmets and a purpose-built spare wheel mount inside the cargo area along with air-compressor. The Defender Dakar comes with the same Dakar Sand and Yanbu Turquoise colour scheme as worn by the D7X-R, with a range of other hues to pick from.Adding to the tough looks is a fixed metal roof with light pods, carbon fibre raised air intakes,  flared wheel arches with exposed rivets, along with metal front under shield and underbody protection.The Defender Dakar made its international debut at the Monterey week in the United States over the weekend with full specifications to be announced at the 2027 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.Land Rover Australia has confirmed to CarsGuide the Defender Dakar will be landing locally and said the price and the number of units being made available will be announced in January 2027.  As a guide, the Defender Octa Black lists ofr $313,800 or about $10,000 more than the regular Octa. Buyers can expect the Defender Dakar to sit above the Octa Black in the range when the model arrives in Australia.

Are we headed for a world where petrol is only the fuel of the rich, powering their hypercars and luxury super SUVs? It certainly appears that way. And I don’t like it…This week the car world achieved a major milestone - the average global price of electric vehicles fell below that of hybrids for the first time. And before too long we’ll see the average price of EVs drop lower than the price of petrol cars.There’s nothing wrong with that - we’re watching the evolution of the motor car, and a change in buying habits and taste in real time.What could supercharge this process and fundamentally change what fuel we use, however, is the volatility of petrol prices which have spiked dramatically due to the conflict in the Middle East. Covering car news each day is revealing a trend and I’m not too sure I like it. High-performance and luxury car brands are doubling down on their fossil fuel focus, while mainstream brands are pushing the limits to make the most affordable electric cars.At the start of this year BMW announced it would reverse its decision to pivot away from petrol and return to producing V8 and V12 units due to their customer demands.Rival brand Mercedes-Benz did the same thing and scrapped its plan to go completely electric by 2030 and dived back into making V8s.Porsche, too, changed its mind after receiving a walloping from customers who made it very clear that Porsche to them meant power from petrol, not power from the electricity grid.Lamborghini also did an about face on EVs at the start of this year and went back to petrol, adding a hybrid system but only to make more mumbo.Yep, Lamborghini replaced its V10 Huracan which made 470kW with the V8 Temerario which makes 588kW plus another 220kW from its electric motors.Then there’s the mysterious case of Ferrari giving us the breathtaking 12Cilindri with yes a V12, which was closely followed by the even more gorgeous V8 Amalfi, before giving us the all-electric Luce which hurts to look at directly. It’s as if the brand was sending us some kind of message coded in ugliness about being asked to do something against its will. Of course the super high end brands appear completely unconcerned by prohibitively high petrol prices affecting sales or the climate.Bugatti announced an end to the reign of its enormous 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engines in its cars like the Veyron and Chiron, but before we could even think it was going green trumpeted in almost the same breath that it was doing V16s instead.Which it did with its current Tourbillon hypercar that houses a monstrous 8.3-litre V16 engine. Yes it has a hybrid system with electric motors but it’s not to save fuel, it’s to make more power. If you were to ask bespoke high performance vehicle maker Hennessey if it had electric cars the response would almost certainly be, “never heard of her." The brand just unveiled its US spy plane-inspired Blackbird hypercar with a naturally aspirated V8 and positioned it as the kind of vehicle that allows drivers to cover 1300km a day.Just days ago Aston Martin ran into the room boasting it was delaying its EV plans because it had found a loop hole which meant it could keep making V12s. The loop hole being that the brand had to keep V12 sales under 1000 a year.Low volume sales aren’t a worry for brands like these - not when an Aston Martin Vanquish costs more than $700,000. And unlike you and me, that's not the owner's only car… it joins a garage with five other cars in it… at least. Yes we’re talking millions of dollars and all petrol-powered.Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to work out how we can get into an electric car for less than $40,000 because chaotic fuel prices are hurting us and we’re worried about the future resale value of petrol cars. I’m also highly concerned about the air that my children breathe and the thought of having a car powered by burning oil that just to drives to shops, school and work sounds more and more preposterous to me. It’s like having kerosene lanterns in every room of your house rather than light bulbsTo be completely clear, though, I love petrol performance cars and detest electric performance ones. Petrol has a place.My fear is that petrol’s happy place in performance cars will eventually exclude me as the fuel becomes more expensive, rarer and the food of exotic beasts I can’t afford.So what’s left? There’s the Cupra Leon VZx, Ford Mustang, Honda Civic Type R and Prelude, Hyundai i30N, Mazda MX-5, Nissan Z, Subaru WRX, Toyota GR Yaris and GR Corolla and VW Golf R.Watch these models closely, because they are the final 'affordable' petrol performance cars and they are all now endangered.    

Ford has shown off a low-priced hybrid SUV, a four-door Mustang and the Fathom electric ute, which the company says are all part of a raft of fresh affordable models to come.Ford’s global CEO Jim Farley broke the news at the Ford Dealer Show event, according to Autonews.Farley showed the brand’s dealers early prototypes of a small hybrid SUV and a four-door Mustang. The small SUV, which effectively replaces the Escape that was discontinued only a year ago in the United States, will go on sale in 2029, according to Farley.While smaller hybrid SUVs aren't really anything new it's important for Ford, which hasn't had a model in recent times to compete with a multitude of rivals with this kind of vehicle.Just as significant is the price of the new hybrid SUV, which will only be about A$35,000, according to Farley. At this price the small SUV would become the new entry point into Ford's model range.People at the event, who wish to remain anonymous, said the new, small SUV was “boxy looking” and resembled a first-generation Ford Escape. Ford's executives told the crowd that a name for the vehicle was yet to be announced.Ford also showcased a prototype four-door Mustang. Again the full details of the vehicle weren't fully revealed.Executives said the four-door Mustang would have more room in the back seats then a Porsche Panamera, have a 0-100km/h time of about four seconds and be priced at about A$57,000 dollars, according to Automotive News.The name Mach-4 is unconfirmed but again, the rumours suggest this could be it.Ford dealers were also able to sit in the upcoming small electric Fathom ute.The ute will be priced about A$43,000 and will use Ford's new electric vehicle architecture called the Universal EV platform, which the company said will underpin at least five of its new models.As for any of these cars coming to Australia, this hinges on the vehicles being built in right-hand drive. If we see hints these models will be sold in the United Kingdom, which is traditionally a large Ford market and right-hand drive, then there's a good chance we may see them come to Australia. Ford's line-up in Australia is currently low on model variety with the brand's biggest sellers being the Ranger ute and Everest SUV.  A model to compete with affordable hybrid SUVs such as the Toyota RAV4 and Haval Jolion would help Ford.As for the Fathom, Ford has hinted this electric ute may have a future in Australia, but with the model not expected in the US until 2028 we may be waiting quite a bit longer to see it here. 

Where are you right now? Because that’s where you were when you found out that the price of EVs globally fell below those of hybrids in this historic first for the auto industry.According to a report from car industry analytics company Mobility Global which studied pricing automotive data from around the world the average price of electric vehicles has not only fallen dramatically but has now even dropped below that of hybrids.The report shows that the average global price of an electric car is $52,373, a decrease of nine per cent compared to 2020 EV prices. At the same time the global average price of hybrids increased to $55,204 making them more expensive than EV for the first time.Mobility Global cites the lower cost of EV batteries and the rapid expansion of affordable Chinese electric vehicles on offer as the main drivers of the price decrease.The price of lithium which goes into high-voltage EV batteries has dropped due to a surplus in China which controls about 80 per cent of the market. The cost of an EV’s battery accounts for about 40 percent of the car’s total build price. The lower lithium prices have caused the price of batteries to drop by an estimated 37 per cent since 2020.Australia has recently seen an enormous uptake of EVs. June and July this year saw EV sales break records, securing more than 20 per cent of the market in both months.  While prices have fallen vastly in Australia CarsGuide calculated the average price of EVs is still slightly above those of hybrids locally. Using pricing data from August, 2026 CarsGuide calculated the average price of battery electric vehicles to be approximately $100,135, down from approximately $104,091 in August, 2025. We also calculated the average price of hybrids (including plug-in hybrids) in August, 2026 - approximately $93,767, that’s down from approximately $98,682 in August, 2025.Sounds high? Well, as a reference point CarsGuide also found that the average price of petrol cars in Australia is approximately $90,545.All figures were calculated by dividing the sum total of prices for each category (BEV, hybrid, petrol) by the number of models (including the variants) within the category. That means even the super high end models are counted along with the very cheapest.Still, the price of EVs in Australia has never been so low. The BYD Atto 1 is the most affordable electric car in Australia at a list price of $23,990 for the Essential grade. This is followed by the Geely EX2 Complete for $26,490, the BYD Dolphin Essential at $29,990 and BYD Atto 2 for $31,990.