2026 Gac E9 Reviews

The results of the fuel crisis are starting to show as sales of electrified vehicles in Australia have officially overtaken petrol and diesel vehicles, respectively.In March 2026 a total of 42,007 electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hybrids were sold, according to sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC).A total of 34,694 new petrol vehicles and 28,364 new diesel vehicles were sold over the same period.Electrified vehicles accounted for 38.6 per cent of total new vehicle sales in March 2026, whereas petrol and diesel new vehicles accounted for 31.9 per cent and 26.1 per cent, respectively.This isn’t the first time this has happened. It occurred initially in the month of December 2025, marking a significant shift in how electrified vehicles have become the norm.At this stage it’s unclear if this trend will continue, but sales for EVs are up 114.4 per cent year-to-date, PHEVs are up 40.3 per cent year-to-date and hybrids down 0.1 per cent year-to-date.The arrival of the new hybrid-only Toyota RAV4 this month is likely to further boost electrified vehicle sales, though.Sales of petrol vehicles are down 17.9 per cent year-to-date and diesel vehicles are down 4.8 per cent year-to-date.Virtually every carmaker is bringing in more electrified vehicle options in order to negate potential fines imposed by the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).In terms of year-to-date sales, electrified vehicles are still only just lagging behind petrol vehicle sales. A total of 100,564 electrified new vehicles and 101,147 petrol new vehicles were sold until the end of March 2026.This is well above the 79,766 diesel new vehicles sold year-to-date.Once April new vehicle sales figures are released this could be the tipping point for electrified vehicles. For now, watch this space.

China is coming for some of the world’s best off-roaders.GAC, which just launched in Australia, has whipped the covers off its new Yue 7 four-wheel drive.The 4WD was previously teased with the codenamed T75 prototype.It is a plug-in hybrid, which puts it on a collision course with new arrivals such as BYD’s Denza B5, as well as conventional diesel-powered favourites such as the Toyota Prado.Its styling resembles several well known 4WDs, with shades of Land Rover’s Defender, the new Toyota Prado and some newer Chinese options just as the Chery iCaur V27 and Jetour T2.It has a blocky, masculine style with chunky all-terrain tyres, a tailgate-mounted spare tyre as well as roof racks and other off-road accessories.Pixel-like headlights give off strong Hyundai Santa Fe vibes and flared wheel arches add to its muscular appearance.It also shows roof-mounted lidar hardware, which points to advanced safety and self driving features.Only the exterior was showcased at the show, with full details to be revealed closer to its third quarter launch.It is expected to use the same plug-in hybrid set-up as the E8 people mover, which combines a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor to make 274kW and 630Nm. This is matched to a circa-25kWh battery that can deliver an electric driving range of about 100km.It is believed this 4WD will spawn a ute, which would come to Australia.The ute is due in 2027 and the company’s local CEO Kevin Shu previously said it was likely we’d learn more about it at the Beijing show.

GAC may not be a brand many Aussies are familiar with yet but its newest small SUV, the Emzoom Luxury, might be set to change that.

China’s GAC burst onto the scene in Australia earlier this year as one of the latest in a sea of new brands.It already offers a number of models locally and on test here is the GAC Aion V. Lining up as the brand's volume seller, it’s a mid-size electric SUV rival to the likes of the BYD Sealion 7, top-selling Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X among others.Two variants are offered locally, Premium and Luxury. The latter is the focus of this review and it’s priced from an incredibly competitive $44,590, before on-road costs. This undercuts all the aforementioned electric SUVs and is priced closer to the Geely EX5 and Leapmotor C10.For this affordable price you get a bucketload of standard equipment. Highlights include 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, 14.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker sound system and leather upholstery.There are also niceties including a panoramic glass sunroof, interior ambient lighting, a centre console fridge, a fold-out second-row tray table, a heated steering wheel, plus heated and ventilated front seats with a massage function as well as heated rear seats. That’s a lot for a car under $45K.While a lot of tech works quite well I experienced some issues reliably connecting with wireless Apple CarPlay. It would sometimes connect straight away, whereas other times it would refuse and I’d resort to using Bluetooth instead.In terms of design, the Aion V is largely non-descript on the outside. While it looks futuristic and spaceship-like, many brands have similar design themes and this means it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.The same can be said inside where it’s clear GAC has drawn inspiration from Tesla. You can tell this because there is a big central touchscreen, what appears to be two wireless chargers on the centre console but is actually only one, plus scroll controls on the steering wheel.One of the few differences is there’s thankfully a digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver which is much easier to glance at while driving.Due to the overall minimalist interior design, you need to use the central touchscreen for virtually everything. This includes changing the climate control or drive mode, toggling the heated and cooled seats, as well as altering the side mirror position. It’s a little too dependent.It’s even more annoying on the move because this car incessantly beeps at you when you take your eyes off the road to use the touchscreen. The driver attention monitor is too sensitive and needs a software update to either allow it to be switched off easily or change the sound and volume.I have similar frustrations with the intelligent speed limit assist, which, like the driver attention monitor, has loud chimes and defaults to 'on' status every time you hop back into the car.It’s worth noting the Aion V received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted in 2025.Standard safety highlights include seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and a surround-view camera system.The Aion V is firmly a mid-size SUV and is roughly the same size as a Toyota RAV4. Riding on a dedicated electric architecture there’s plenty of space in the first- and second-row, plus a generous amount of boot space.Surprisingly you can opt for a space-saver spare wheel as a no-cost option which is great peace-of-mind for road trips out of town.Power comes from a single, front-mounted electric motor that produces 150kW and 210Nm. While these numbers may not seem earthshattering, they get this family SUV moving along at a decent pace.Unlike many EVs, especially from new Chinese carmakers, I appreciate the fact GAC hasn’t given the Aion V a ridiculous amount of power. A family hauler like this doesn’t need to be a performance car.The electric motor is fed by a 75.3kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery which allows for a WLTP-claimed range of 510km.Claimed energy consumption is 16.7kWh/100km, according to WLTP testing, and during my 445km of urban and rural testing I achieved an average of 16.1kWh/100km, according to the trip computer, which is better than the claim.The Aion V is particularly efficient in and around the city where it can leverage its regenerative braking as much as possible, whereas out on the open road and in colder weather the energy consumption can skyrocket towards 25kWh/100km and above.DC fast-charging is available at rates up to 180kW, allowing a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 24 minutes, whereas AC charging is up to 11kW, allowing a 0 to 100 per cent charge in 8.5 hours. These aren’t revolutionary figures but are good for the price point.What surprises me most about the Aion V is that while it has the appealing price tag and heaps of standard kit, it isn’t a dog’s breakfast to drive, like some tech-heavy Chinese electric SUVs.This car has solid handling characteristics, even when you get out in the twisties. It’s helped primarily by the well-weighted steering that feels like it’s connected to something.You can tell the suspension is tuned more towards comfort than racy dynamic response but it doesn’t float and mope about like many of its similarly-priced rivals. The bigger bumps are soaked up with ease and it doesn’t take multiple movements to settle.Aion V owners are covered by an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, whereas the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 200,000km, whichever comes first.GAC is still scaling its dealer network in Australia and is currently targeting urban areas. It hasn’t detailed logbook servicing intervals or pricing for any of its models yet.

GAC’s Chief Technical Officer Masato Katsumata and CEO Kevin Shu explained one unique dynamic between China and Australia that will keep putting our small market in the limelight for Chinese brands.GAC has arrived in Australia fast, and as a factory-backed operation rather than dipping its toes in the water via a distributor like BYD or XPeng. When asked why the brand has committed so much resources to Australia so quickly, Kevin Shu explained there were two main factors at play - preparedness, and the value of feedback from more advanced markets.“As you know, GAC has been successfully received in regions: South East Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and , and this is why GAC is ready to enter into the European market, and the Australian market.”“Once we’re successful in the Australian market and then the European market, we can feed back to the Chinese domestic market, giving us powerful planning and marketing to help the domestic operation grow,” he said.He agreed the kind of feedback received in Australia was essential for research and development to make cars better, even in their home market.But more interesting was the company’s true advantage over its once-dominant Japanese and Korean rivals, according to the brand’s Chief Technology Officer Masato Katsumata, who was previously a senior executive at Toyota for decades.“From my experience at a Japanese OEM, typical Japanese companies have to think about the US market first," said Katsumata."But typical Chinese manufacturers haven’t got that kind of intention. In the future, obviously , but for the time being we can focus on the rest of the global market. So that means in the case of Toyota or another Japanese company - they have to make a concept for the US market first. So, the Australian customer preference might be close to the American customer plus a bit of the European taste.“But they have to start with the US and then adjust it to the European direction. This is their strategy, how to develop a car for Australia.”“But, for Chinese brands it’s different because the base in the US is nothing when it comes to development, so therefore more and more these brands can simply purely focus on the Australian market first.“This flexibility to not have to think about the US market gives us more and more flexibility to think about customers outside the US - this is another strength of the Chinese automaker today.”Katsumata confirmed the current tariff structure keeping Chinese brands out of America for the time being meant the knowledge and feedback from Australian media and buyers became much more valuable toward the future aspirations of brands like GAC. Despite coming relatively late to the piece in the Australian market GAC has ambitious plans, with the goal of becoming a a top ten seller locally in its first five years, according to Shu.GAC already sells four models in Australia with the launch of the Aion UT hatchback, which joins the Aion V mid-size SUV, M8 people mover, and Emzoom small SUV. In 2026 and beyond it is plotting a large SUV and a new ground-up ute model to bolster its offering.

Chinese brand GAC has shown official camouflage pictures of a brand new plug-in hybrid off-roader, which will debut a new platform and direction for the Toyota-allied brand.Codenamed T75, the new off-roader will debut at the Beijing Motor Show in late April. The brand confirms it will be a plug-in hybrid as evidenced by two flaps on both sides above the rear wheel arch.The overall appearance confirms the new GAC off-roader will follow in the footsteps of the Denza B5 from BYD’s premium arm, leaning into the traditional boxy off-road appeal, complete with a tailgate-mounted spare wheel and high-profile tyres.The new images also show real door handles (as opposed to the kinds of previously-popular flush door handles currently being targeted by Chinese regulators), and a grille-free face. The brand is yet to reveal the new SUV’s light profile, although unlike some concept vehicles, the images show the T75 with real wing mirrors.It is a stark new design direction for GAC, leaving behind the large-grille design of its hybrid GS8 large SUV. Chinese media is reporting the T75 has been in the works at GAC since at least 2024, and the company has invested over the equivalent of $100 million in the project.This new GAC off-roader could also be our first hint at the brand’s recently confirmed upcoming dual-cab ute.The ute is due in 2027 and the company’s local CEO Kevin Shu said it was likely we’d learn more about it at Beijing in late April.If the new ute does share its underpinnings with this new plug-in hybrid off-roader, it will pit GAC’s dual-pronged off-road offering head-to-head with the BYD Shark 6 and the related Denza B5, which both use a petrol plug-in hybrid set-up.This space is becoming increasingly heated, with many Chinese brands moving into the off-road space, using Australia as a trial-by-fire for their range of new products. Not only is the Denza B5 and Tank 500 already in this plug-in off-road space, but Geely is also set to enter the fray before long with its Galaxy Cruiser 700.

The GAC Aion UT Luxury is the top-spec of a two-tier launch range for the new Chinese hatchback.Rivalling the BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG MG4 it is still relatively good value, starting from $34,990, before on-road costs.It includes all the impressive kit from the base Premium grade car like 17-inch wheels, a 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen and 8.88-inch digital dash, synthetic leather interior trim, power adjust and heating for the front two seats and a heated steering wheel, whilst also adding a panoramic sunroof, power tailgate, ventilation for the driver's seat, a wireless phone charger and auto folding powered wing mirrors with an auto dimming central mirror.Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard alongside over-the-air connectivity and built-in navigation.The Aion UT Luxury is powered by the same 150kW/210Nm front-mounted motor as the base Premium and offers the same 430km (WLTP) range from its 60kWh battery pack.The interior is relatively spacious even for a car in this class with ample front and rear room, although it comes at a cost to boot space which is a less impressive 321 litres.Vehicle-to-load (V2L) is standard, allowing the battery to charge and/or power external devices but there's no spare wheel in the Aion UT range.GAC covers its cars with an eight-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, with the battery covered form the same time but 200,000km distance.

It may be a new manufacturer to Australia, but Chinese giant GAC has one leg up which many of its rivals can’t claim - its deep ties with Toyota.

The GAC Aion UT Premium is the entry-grade of the Chinese newcomers hatchback range.With a launch price of $31,990, before on-road costs, it makes a statement as one of the most affordable new electric cars on sale in Australia.Roughly Corolla-sized, it competes with the BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG4 rather than the smaller BYD Atto 1, or small SUVs like the BYD Atto 2 or Jaecoo J5.Setting it apart from price rivals is its motor which is more powerful at 150kW/210Nm, and its 60kWh LFP battery which delivers a useful 430km driving range.Standard kit is even right on the base car, with highlights including 17-inch wheels, a 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen and 8.88-inch digital dash, synthetic leather interior trim, power adjust and heating for the front two seats as well as a heated steering wheel.The multimedia system features online connectivity, built-in navigation and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto connectivity.The full array of active safety equipment is standard, although like many of its contemporaries the systems can be frustrating in operation.Inside is space efficient, although like many of its rivals it lacks physical buttons for many features.Rear seat space is ample, but comes at a cost to boot space which measures 321 litres.Vehicle-to-load (V2L) is standard, allowing the battery to charge external devices, but there's no spare wheel in the Aion UT range.GAC covers its cars with an eight-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, with the battery covered for the same time but 200,000km distance.

A new type of battery technology could be about to take over the budget electric car industry. The sodium-ion make-up solves the problem of sourcing expensive and rare materials needed for lithium-iron batteries, while maintaining adequate driving range for smaller EVs.Sodium-ion batteries are further along the full scale commercialisation than solid-state batteries, which have been touted as the holy grail of electric cars, for example. Sodium-ion batteries have less energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries such as Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) and more advanced Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) units, and much less than what is promised from futuristic solid-state cells.The big advantage is the ease of access and relative cheapness of obtaining sodium compared to lithium, which makes them an attractive choice. The difference in energy density means on a large scale, particularly for car batteries, LFP is often a cheaper choice. This is because substantially more sodium-ion battery cells are needed to make up the equivalent in LFP units.  The power advantage is diminishing, with energy density on sodium batteries expected to exceed 180Wh/kg in the near future.This means sodium batteries could be a significantly cheaper, and much more viable choice for car batteries, especially in smaller EVs, which do not require a substantial driving range.One of the other benefits of sodium-ion batteries is they are more resistant to extreme temperatures. This has been an issue in particular for NMC batteries, with multiple instances of these batteries not performing to expectations in unusually hot or cold environments. Mainstream Chinese battery manufacturer CATL recently introduced a sodium battery with an energy density of around 175Wh/kg, which is closer to energy density in lithium alternatives. Bridging the energy density gap between sodium and lithium batteries opens up the potential for sodium chemistry to be the go-to for budget EV carmakers.Sodium-ion batteries are also becoming cheaper to manufacture and could reach cost parity within LFP batteries within the next two years, according to reports out of China.This could be seen as the perfect battery make-up for smaller EVs, which are often already budget oriented, meaning the price of these cars could be brought down further. CATL began commercial production of its sodium batteries last year, and manufacturers are already jumping on board. CATL’s Naxtra sodium-ion battery offers a driving range of around 500km, while keeping the extreme temperature benefits of the technology. GAC is expected to utilise a unit from CATL in one of its upcoming EVs, according to a report in Auto News. GAC is one of many brands investing in sodium-ion, with other Chinese rivals such as BYD also developing the technology. BAIC has also been making moves with its battery, which can be fully charged in only 11 minutes. The German government has also put aside 20 million euros for a gigawatt-hour sodium-ion plant, with Mercedes-Benz one of the brands potentially benefiting.