Deepal News

Despite a backwards step in 2024, Chinese cars are on-track to bounce back in 2025 as a flood of new brands enter the market.While brands like BYD, MG, GWM and Chery have already established themselves, a new wave is on the way to challenge Japan as Australia’s biggest car importer.By the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands officially in the Australian market and at least two more have announced plans for entry into our market in 2025 with more expected to follow. Japan, by contrast, only has nine brands in our local market but still comfortably leads the overall production with nearly 379,000 vehicles from Japan sold here in 2024.That compares to 272,139 from Thailand and 176,159 from China. Those figures don’t account for a brand’s national base but rather simply where they are built, so it includes certain Tesla, Volvo and other models from different brands.But while Japan and Thailand still lead the way as the most popular countries for new-car production, China appears on-course to overtake them in the not-too-distant future at the current rate.With the likes of Zeekr, Leapmotor, Deepal, XPeng, Geely, Smart, JAC, GAC/Aion, Jaecoo and more set to grow in 2025, plus expanded product lines from BYD, MG, GWM and Chery, the approximate 96,000 sales difference between China and Thailand could shrink dramatically this year.The industry is well aware of the rapid growth of the Chinese car industry in Australia, with Toyota Australia’s Head of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, commenting this week: “The Australian new-car market has always been one of the most competitive in the world, and 2025 will be no different. We expect to see more new brands and models, which means more choice and even stronger competition, which, in the end, is great for the consumer.“By all reports, there could be a dozen new Chinese car companies arriving in Australia by the end of next year. In the past five years, they have taken more than 13 percentage points of market share from established brands.”Hanley was quick to point out that while these new brands have taken significant market share, Toyota remains the clear leader.However, that growth must come from somewhere and that will force brands across the market to react to this new array of rivals. This is likely to result in increased competition for Australian buyers at a time when cost-of-living pressures are expected to cool the market after record sales in 2024.

Just weeks after launching its Tesla Model Y competitor in Australia, the S07 electric range extender SUV, Deepal is already prepping its larger-sized sibling.Coined the Deepal S09, the family-sized model has been revealed in homologation filings submitted to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and published by CarNewsChina.Measuring 5205mm long, 1996mm wide, 1800mm tall and with a wheelbase of 3105mm, the S09 is a three-row large SUV that would dwarf a Hyundai Palisade, Kia Sorento and Toyota Kluger.CarNewsChina is reporting that it will boast a carrying capacity of six people, with two range-extender powertrains.Range extenders seem to be China's latest frontier. Taking batteries that are larger than your typical plug-in hybrid but smaller than a battery EV, a small petrol engine is included to provide charge for the battery, though not to drive the wheels.There is a single electric motor version, with a curb weights of 2510kg and 2590kg listed and a dual-motor version, with curb weights of 2668kg and 2690kg listed.Single motor versions have a 231kW electric motor on the rear axle, while dual-motor versions will add an additional 131kW electric motor driving the front wheels. Both versions will be capable of a top speed of 205 km/h.CATL will supply a lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery pack on both models, though size nor range have been listed.Deepal’s ‘Blue Whale’ 1.5-litre petrol can supply 110kW to charge the battery.Images of the S09’s interior haven’t been provided either, although exterior shots show what appears to be an S07 silhouette with much larger proportions.It gets a thin LED headlight bar, along with large fog lamps and a small air intake on the car’s lower bumper. A Lidar unit sits above the top windscreen, as is becoming increasingly common with Chinese cars.Along the side, the profile is relatively clean with retractable door handles and chrome-coloured window trims.There is the option of 20-inch or 21-inch wheels with at least four different designs, while a LED light bar is replicated at the rear.While it is unclear whether the S09 will arrive in Australia at this stage, a local spokersperson said that it was in contention. “Future product that may be available for the Australian market from Deepal globally is of course under consideration for the local market," the spokesperson said. The Deepal S09 expected to arrive in China in the first half of 2025 with a starting price of 300,000 yuan ($64,191).

Getting out among new car buyers can be a rare occurrence in this line of work, with a focus on new products and the promises of executives filling our regular days. So it was refreshing to man the CarsGuide EV advice stand at the 2024 Sydney International EV show for the weekend and get some insight into how electric car buyers think. Although it was a smaller footprint than Sydney Motor Shows of old, fervent visitors started filling the halls from 9am on all three days. In total, more than 30,000 bodies passed through the doors over the weekend. The overwhelming takeaway from talking to buyers was this sect of Aussies was not at all concerned about brand history, with Toyota and Ford’s stands dramatically quieter than the barely-known start-ups from China such as Xpeng, Zeekr and Deepal.It helps that these new marques dressed their stands to impress. Aside from a wild flying machine, XPeng also had a luxurious seven-seat people mover essentially purpose-built to generate public interest with a huge rear entertainment screen and ‘business class’ reclining rear seats with heating, cooling and foot rests. The G6 is the first retail model from XPeng and it was also well-trafficked, along with the larger G9 the brand is considering for local release. Zeekr turned up with the X small SUV along with a few extra bits of eye-candy like the confirmed-for-oz 009 people mover, a 475kW 007 sedan in a lewd yellow paint colour and a 001 FR the Geely-owned marque’s Polestar 2-related first model. The other new entrant was Deepal, which is being imported by well-known company Inchcape that also handles Subaru, Foton, Peugeot and previously Citroen. Along with the classic Tesla Model Y rival, the S07 electric family SUV, Deepal had some cool stuff. Namely, a Cybertruck-like electric and range-extender compatible E05 electric sedan-pick-up amalgamation that was catching attention. Kia’s front-and-centre placement helped drive plenty of traffic to the brand’s new EV5 while also making Hyundai’s lack of presence quite obvious. With the Tasman due next year and the EV5’s sharp price, it’s a brand that’s sure to go from strength to strength. Tesla’s presence was held up by the Australian owner’s club while BYD was represented by a dealer, with an unfortunate lack of Shark utes on the stand. It was Ford and Toyota that were visibly the lowest traffic OEMs over the weekend, and Australia’s third most-popular brand Mazda didn’t even turn up with its plug-in hybrids. With a pair of bZ4Xs on display and charge-box-on-wheels, Toyota’s wasn’t exactly a dull stand yet it proves that people are more interested in the whizz-bang new models — that’s the point of a motor show, after all. As for Ford, despite having prime real estate among the newcomers, it seemed that not so many punters were interested in the Mach-E and plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger Stormtrak, even with the ute’s vehicle-to-load system that can power a coffee machine, TV, work tools and more.Some other mainstream carmakers present were Audi, BMW, Cupra and Volvo though these stands were notably smaller than the others. As for other brands from China, Chery and GWM proved relatively popular but the Smart stand was quiet. MG’s choice to only bring a Cyberster rather than the affordable MG4 seemed a bit short-sighted — next year, maybe.The most common line of questioning was if we would recommend the XPeng G6 and what the best alternatives to a Tesla Model Y are — we fielded almost no questions about the bZ4X or plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger Stormtrak. Plenty of test drives were taken over the three days and at one point on Sunday, you would have had to queue for four hours to sample XPeng’s new G6. But what does all this tell us about the new car landscape?MG has already proven sharp pricing can drive mega traffic into electric vehicles and that, when EVs reach parity with combustion-engined and hybrid options, they are much more attractive. In this case, customers aren’t cross-shopping, say, a Tesla Model Y with just other EVs, but similarly-priced combustion and hybrid models, too. Electric cars aren’t competing with themselves, but in a battle to bring the other 90.6 per cent of the new car market out of combustion and hybrid-engined choices. Most worrying for big carmakers, though, will be the lack of brand devotion. Despite what the bZ4X advertising campaign suggests, there were very few talking about Toyota’s proven low-cost servicing or reliability. Instead, the long seven- and even ten-year warranties of newcomers seemed enough to allay most fears. Don’t expect Toyota, Ford or Mazda sales to drop off a cliff anytime soon, but the interest and willingness of local buyers to branch out and sample an unknown product will definitely cause a headache.

New Chinese brand Deepal has arrived in Australia with sharp pricing on its first model — a direct rival to the Tesla Model Y.

Following its global debut less than two months ago at the Chengdu Motor Show, Changan subsidiary Deepal has announced domestic pricing for its S05 small, coupe-style five-seat SUV.

Chinese carmaker Deepal has just launched in Australia with its S07 mid-size electric SUV, but it isn’t going to rest on its laurels.

Deepal is the latest car brand to launch in Australia and its S07 electric SUV is due to land on our roads in November.

Another new Chinese car brand is coming to Australia this year. Deepal will launch Down Under in the fourth quarter of this year and will be distributed by Inchcape, which is the importer for other brands such as Foton utes, Subaru and Peugeot.