Articles by Tim Gibson

The Xiaomi YU7 GT electric SUV has just been exposed in China, and it comes with some bonkers performance numbers.

Mitsubishi Australia has announced the Triton Raider ute, which will launch in Australia this year as a new high-end off-road hero.There are no specification details about the vehicle at this stage, but we will learn more about it at the end of this month when it makes its full debut.On the face of things, it us shaping up as a direct rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor, which sits at the top of the Ford ute's range with 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine producing 292kW and 583Nm.Whether the Triton Raider will have some sort of powertrain upgrade remains to be seen, with the brand thus far only saying the new variant has been "inspired by rally raid competitions" and will "have a focus on Australian engineering."The current 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel found across the current Triton range produces 150kW and 470Nm.The Raider is likely to top out the Triton range, with the current most expensive version of the ute starting from $64,590, before on-road costs. The Ranger Raptor, for comparison, starts from more than $90,000.Mitsubishi also said the Triton Raider recently went through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, demonstrating its rigorous pre-launch testing program.From the image provided, the ute keeps most of the Triton signature design points, but has several blacked out elements, such as the roof rails and door mirrors.It has exaggerated fenders to highlight its more rugged capabilities, suggesting upgrades to track or tyre width and suspension.The Triton is one of Mitsubishi’s best-selling models, only trailing the Outlander SUV for sales as of February 2026.It comes at a time when Mitsubishi is preparing to reintroduce its Pajero four-wheel drive this year, which is expected to be based on the current Triton ute like its Pajero Sport predecessor.This will give the Japanese brand two new models as it looks to snatch back sales from rivals such as Ford and Toyota, which still dominate the sales charts.

Major Chinese carmaker GWM will invest more money into its solid-state battery program over the coming years to better challenge BYD and Chery.Solid-state batteries offer the potential to wipe out fears over range anxiety with a solid internals enabling greater energy density than liquid units in conventional batteries. It could ensure cars with a driving range of over 1000km become the norm across electric models. There are also potential benefits in relation to safety and efficiency, making them an attractive proposition for carmakers.According to a post from GWM's outspoken Chairman Jack Wei on Chinese social media, solid-state batteries face multiple challenges, such as cost efficiency, safety and performance. Wei played off the chances of seeing solid-state batteries in the next couple of years, with it more likely to be into the next decade. This is despite it being announced at the brand's 2024 annual general meeting it was able to begin making small capacity solid-state batteries.GWM is not giving up on the viability of solid-state batteries for commercial output, with the brand pumping more money into the project to make progress on research and development. Wei said GWM’s solid-state battery developments would take at least five more years before being available for commercial use. This means we will not see a production-ready solid-state unit from the brand until after 2030.GWM battery tech subsidiary Svolt unveiled a solid-state prototype in 2022, which had an energy density between 350-400Wh/kg - less than the 600Wh/kg of Chery’s incoming units. GWM’s battery, like Chery's, uses a sulfide-based make-up. The battery underwent extensive testing, including rigorous thermal efficiency trials, maintaining stability at 200 degrees, as reported by CarNews China.GWM currently only has one electric car on sale in Australia, which is its budget Ora hatch. It is expected to add the Ora 5 crossover to its EV line-up this year.Chery is also pushing ahead with its solid-state plans, including the launch of two models within the next couple of years, with the brand's Australian branch keen to have them Down Under. Its recently-announced 600Wh/kg unit is claimed to have a driving range of 1500km, significantly more than any other fully-electric car on the market. BYD has also been gearing up its pursuit of solid-state, with small-batch production scheduled for 2027.Wei’s comments line up with similar sentiments from US giant General Motors in October 2025. The company's Vice President of Battery, Propulsion and Sustainability Kurt Kelty said solid-state “is still years away”, but the brand remains vigilant to its developments in the coming years.It echoes similar comments recently by Toyota executives, who went so far as to say "there's no telling if it will work or not" despite heavy investment in the tech.

MG Australia has revealed more details of its MG4 Urban budget electric hatchback, and it could be one of Australia's cheapest EVs.The Urban will enter the Australian market as a closer competitor to other affordable EV offerings such as the BYD Atto 1, Dolphin and GWM Ora.It will also have to contend with the incoming Geely EX2, which is also speculated to launch with a sharp price point.There is still no news on price for the Urban, but it is expected to be a step down from the standard MG4, which starts from around $36,000 (drive-away) until the end of March 2026. The brand said it plans to offer pricing comparable to similar internal combustion vehicles. The petrol-powered MG3 hatch currently starts in the early $20K bracket, excluding current promotions, meaning the MG4 Urban could be priced around the same.It's unclear if it will undercut the current cheapest EV in Australia, the smaller BYD Atto 1 Essential that's priced from $23,990 before on-road costs. But it's likely to be closer to $30k than $20k.The anticipated budget-oriented price tag for the MG4 Urban could help MG reclaim sales in the electric hatch space from its previously cheaper rivals.Unlike the standard rear-wheel-drive MG4 currently on sale in Australia, the Urban is a front-wheel-drive only variant, but it is also noticeably bigger. The car gets the same battery as found in the United Kingdom spec models. The 43kWh battery has a driving range of 323km (WLTP), while the 54kWh battery bumps the range up to 415km.This sees it line up with the driving range available on the Dolphin and Ora, but it should be noted that both models of GWM's hatch get a larger 58kWh battery.Power output for the Australian version of the MG4 Urban is still to be revealed, but there are variants producing 109kW, 117kW and 120kW overseas.It will come with 17-inch alloy wheels as standard along with a full-width rear light bar. The brand said the car will offer a high level of practicality, including 382L of luggage space, with substantial rear legroom and headroom, even for tall rear passengers.

Geely has unveiled its Galaxy Starshine 7 plug-in hybrid sedan in China, offering a new electrified option in the segment. The model is expected to launch in China in the coming weeks, with no clear plans yet on if or where it will be exported, so there is nothing confirmed about the Galaxy Starshine 7’s potential future in Australia.However, the two current Geely models on sale Down Under also fall under the brand’s Galaxy sub-brand, so it may have a better chance than other cars in the brand's overseas catalogue.A spokesperson for Geely Australia said there is nothing to announce yet, but no model is off the table either.We expect to learn more about whether the Galaxy Starshine 7 is destined for Australia next month at the Beijing Motor Show. It measures 4958mm in length, 1915mm wide and 1505mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2852, seeing it sit on the larger side of the sedan category. It would offer a budget alternative to the plug-in hybrid sedan variant of the Audi A5 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The car is similarly sized to the Toyota Camry hybrid in Australia, which is the dominant player of the segment, so it would be a keen rival to the popular Japanese sedan.We are yet to find out more substantial information about the car, but we know it will be powered by a plug-in hybrid set-up with an all-wheel drive system.The 1.5-litre petrol engine produces 82kW, with the bulk of the power expected to come from the electric motors.It will have battery choices of 19kWh and 28kWh, both offering electric-only driving ranges of 115km and 165km, respectively, according to CLTC but expect closer to 100km for the long-range battery in real-world conditions.It also has a fuel economy of 2.0L/100km, which is half that of the Toyota Camry’s, although the Toyota is only a plugless hybrid. The plug-in hybrid C-Class has a fuel economy of 1.5L/100km, for comparison.The only other information available on the car at this stage is that it can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.4 seconds.

Brand loyalty is being increasingly eroded according to exclusive data in Gumtree Group’s The Next Gear: Australia in Motion report.In a survey of prospective buyers looking at hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, just three per cent had an exact model in mind and only nine per cent had a preference on brand.The data shows 38 per cent of respondents said they were open to a variety of car options or were undecided, while 25 per cent knew the type of car they wanted, but had no preference on the brand. The data was generated from a survey of nearly 4400 people who visited Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader in 2025.The erosion of brand loyalty has been in part brought on by the significant influx of new players entering the Australian market, with aggressive price-points.This trend has continued into 2026. Already this year, BYD’s luxury sub-brand Denza launched with its B5 and B8 SUVs, while several other brands, including Chery’s sub-brand Lepas are not too far away. These new players will add to the already-diverse list of manufacturers with cars on sale Down Under, with some of those shaking up the established pack. The likes of BYD and Chery, with extensive electric and hybrid options, have made huge strides in the Aussie market at the expense of brands such as Mitsubishi and Subaru.The latest sales data also revealed Chinese manufacturers overtook Japanese manufacturers Down Under for the first time in February 2026.It is a similar story when looking at the best-selling brands, with both Toyota and Mazda experiencing sizeable drops in sales month-to-month, while BYD, GWM and Chery all saw big increases. There are signs now that Chinese brands are beginning to snatch more sales from each other in Australia, with LDV and MG losing out to rivals.The same goes for established brand GWM, which for the first time was overtaken by BYD in the sales charts for Australia last month.Hybrid choices continue to grow in popularity, but petrol sales remain dominant for now. As brands continue to favour hybrid over petrol in their line-ups thanks in no small part to Australia's new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES), the electrified shift with accelerate. Many brands like Toyota have shifted entire product portfolios to hybrid-only, while others are expected to follow suit before long as regulations bite toward the end of the decade.

Volkswagen’s new ID. Cross all-electric city SUV has just been unveiled in lightly camouflaged guise overseas, with the model targeted for a launch later this year. We don’t know yet whether the ID. Cross will make its way to Australia, but there are already several other models under the electric ID banner here. The brand has its ID. 4 and ID. 5 mid-size SUVs as well as the ID. Buzz people mover and van. Volkswagen Australia has been contacted for comment as to when we might see the ID. Cross launch in Australia.A spokesperson for Volkswagen Australia said the brand is currently exploring the possibilities and feasibility of introducing the ID. Cross in Australia, but no decisions have been made yet. The new model would provide an all-electric small SUV rival in what is a growing segment Down Under. The five-seater would compete with the likes of the BYD Atto 2 and Leapmotor B10 as well as cars a half-size up like the Kia EV3 ahead of the more size-equivalent EV2 arriving.We know so far the ID. Cross has three electric motor set-ups, which produce 85kW, 99kW and 155kW respectively, serving as an electric alternative to the T-Cross combustion SUV.It comes with two battery choices, which are 37kWh and 52kWh. Details on the driving range for the car are yet to be revealed by VW. It will also get DC fast charging at 90kW, with the larger battery option offering charging at 105kW, indicating a charge time in the mainstream benchmark half-hour range. It will start in price overseas from 28,000 euros, which is around $45,000, but expect a price jump is on the table if it makes its way to Aussie shores as the numbers rarely line up.The ID. Cross appears in camouflaged photos in the Netherlands with a bubble-like design and a sloping roofline much like that of the current T-Cross combustion car. It has a rectangular rear light design and the rear VW badge illuminates in line with other ID models. Few other details have been revealed about the car at this stage, with the launch planned between September and December this year in Europe.This latest ID. Cross continues VW’s push towards electrification of its range, with the brand recently announcing an ID. Polo hatch, with an ID. Golf also mooted to live alongside the re-branded ID.3 Neo electric car.Stay tuned for more on Volkswagen's new model plans for the remainder of 2026 in Australia soon.

Chery’s groundbreaking solid-state battery with 1500km of driving range is edging closer to production, according to reports out of China.Solid-state is seen as a game-changing upgrade for electric vehicles, making range anxiety a relic of history. By using a solid material to transfer power, it can store substantially more energy than conventional batteries. The brand recently confirmed its solid-state plans, aiming to deploy the technology this year in limited operational scenarios before broader commercialisation. It is targeting mass-market availability of the battery next year. More details are likely to be revealed about the battery at Chery’s upcoming ‘Battery Night’ in China. This could include confirmation of important information such as battery capacity and charging architecture.It has previously been reported Chery’s solid-state battery has an energy density of 600Wh/kg, which is far greater than conventional batteries. This enables superior driving range, with the battery offering 1500km. It can perform reliably in temperatures as low as minus-30 degrees. This battery will feature on Chery’s high-end sub-brand Exeed with its Liefeng shooting brake model. We also know the car will have super fast charging through its 800-volt platform and can shift from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds, maxing out at 260km/h.Chery has been boasting of its solid-state battery developments for some time now.Exeed was thought to be launching its ES8 with a solid-state battery for the first time later this year, expected to have a driving range of 1000km. The Exeed brand is something that could be on the cards for Australia, with local Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris eager to see it Down Under.“I really like the Exeed product, and I think they make some, you know, really cool, really high end, actual luxury specification vehicles. If I could make a wish tomorrow and it would come true, that would probably be what I would ask for," Harris told CarsGuide this year.Chery’s announcement comes after rival Chinese brand BYD said it would have small-batch production for its solid-state battery ready some time next year, but there are no specification details available yet. Many other brands are also investing into solid-state, with 2027 looking like a breakthrough year for the technology, as CATL, SAIC and Toyota all prepare for production. It is unclear at this stage whether solid-state batteries will be the future of electric vehicles, but this upcoming announcement could provide an insight into its potential.

Fuel prices in Australia are soaring, meaning fuel efficiency in vehicles is a more important consideration than ever. Hybrid cars offer the potential for superior fuel efficiency compared to internal combustion power without the big price premium if fully electric or plug-in hybrid options. This makes them an increasingly attractive option for buyers given the current global climate. Hybrid sales are already booming in Australia, but will increases in fuel prices accelerate the shift away from pure internal combustion cars? NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said that while hybrid sales are increasing, an even swifter transition is less than clear. “If you’re driving a standard vehicle with a 55-litre tank, compared to what we were paying before the war began to now, it’s a $45 increase on one tank of petrol. That applies regardless of whether it’s hybrid or petrol,” Khoury said. “Historically speaking, looking at what happens after an oil shock, it certainly opens up their consideration. “No doubt that if this crisis continues and these prices hang around for weeks or months, Australians will look at those alternatives more seriously.” Below is a comparison between popular petrol and hybrid choices in each segment to see how they stack up in a changing fuel context. Fuel cost has been calculated using current data from the New South Wales’ government’s average fuel price for unleaded 95 petrol and diesel. Toyota’s Corolla hybrid hatch offers superior fuel efficiency and driving range compared to the Kia K4 petrol model. The Corolla is also cheaper to fill up with fuel thanks to its smaller tank and offers a substantially bigger driving range. The Kia Seltos is a petrol-only variant, but despite its bigger fuel tank, it has less driving range than the Toyota Corolla Cross, courtesy of the hybrid powertrain. The bigger fuel tank means the Seltos is also more expensive to fill up. The mid-size CX-5 has a non-turbo charged petrol engine, which sees it offer an impressive estimated driving range of more than 800km, but once again the Toyota competitor’s fuel efficiency wins out in the RAV4 hybrid. The Toyota Kluger continues the Japanese juggernaut’s fuel efficient theme, with a hybrid set-up offering a driving range of more than 1122km, which is significantly more than the MQ QS, despite both cars costing a similar amount to fill up at the bowser. Utes are some of the worst affected by the fuel price increase as many of them are powered using diesel engines, with diesel fuel rising more than petrol. It has now risen to well beyond the $2.60 mark per litre. The BYD Shark’s plug-in hybrid set-up uses petrol, which makes it an affordable option, given the price of diesel. It should be noted that the Shark 6’s fuel efficiency is significantly reduced when the battery is not charged. It’s a similar story for the GWM Cannon Alpha, which should be noted is no longer on sale, but remains one of limited plug-less hybrid utes in Australia. 

Geely sub-brand Farizon has confirmed its new V7E electric van will launch in Australia this year.Few details have been revealed about the van at this stage, but variant specifications and pricing will be announced next month, deliveries beginning in May.It will join an increasingly busy electric van segment, with the likes of the Kia PV5 launching mid-year, along with the Ford E-Transit Custom, LDV eDeliver 7 and Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo, which are already in Australia.Pricing for these electric vans sits in the $60K-$70K bracket, so expect Farizon’s latest edition to be in a similar range. It has a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery made by CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, with a driving range of 330km. This is more driving range than the rivalling E-Transit Custom at 307km. The van will come with a 1300kg payload, which is more than the E-Transit Custom, but similar to the LDV eDeliver 7. It also has a cargo volume of 6.95 cubic metres.It is said to boast a generous internal load length and a low rear loading height.Farizon launched in Australia through distributor Jameel Motors in 2025, with its SuperVan electric van, which comes in short-wheel and long-wheel base variants, starting from $71,490 (before on-roads).It is powered by a single electric motor, producing 170kW and 336Nm, with its 83kWh battery offering 376km of driving range. There have been more electric vans launching in Australia over the past few years as the segment begins to move away from diesel alternatives. Diesel vans remain the popular choice for buyers, with the Toyota HiAce the dominant option, with more than 11,000 sales in 2025.