LDV News

Volkswagen has confirmed its electric Transporter mid-sized van will arrive in Australia before the end of this year to go head-to-head with the Ford E-Transit Custom and LDV eDeliver 7.In an announcement made this week Volkswagen said the Transporter battery electric vehicle (BEV) would land locally in the third quarter of 2025. This would have the electric version of the new-generation Transporter arriving at the same time as the diesel variant, with the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) variant following in the second quarter of 2026.Volkswagen also confirmed some vital specifications for the Transporter EV. A single electric motor producing 210kW and 450Nm will power the Transporter EV’s rear wheels and a payload capacity of 1038kg will apply to both short-wheelbase and long-wheel base versions.In comparison, the diesel variant of the Transporter uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 125kW and 390Nm, and will be available in front- and all-wheel drive. Short- and long wheelbase grades will have a payload of 1326kg.The Transporter PHEV will be powered by a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid system making a combined 205kW and 320Nm, with both short- and long wheelbases offering 1140kg of payload.Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Product Manager Nadia Bucholtz said the new-generation Transporter would cater for more applications than before.“Short and long wheelbases, standard roof height and high roof variants, front-wheel drive and 4Motion, Transporter has remained committed to supplying the most fit-for-purpose vehicles to our customers, including the most extensive range of applications,” Ms Bucholtz said.“The addition of BEV and PHEV variants to the range serves to further expand that product offering, particularly as our customers look to ways to minimise their emissions, maximise drive comfort and reduce running costs.”Volkswagen developed the Transporter EV in conjunction with Ford which has produced its version, the E-Transit Custom, and that is also expected to arrive in 2025.Pricing for both vehicles has not been announced yet but buyers can expect Volkswagen’s Transporter EV to list from about $70,000. LDV's eDeliver 7 is a popular rival to both the Transporter EV and E-Transit Custom and starts at $67,358 before extending up to $73,674.The entry price into the current generation of the Transporter is for the diesel 320S Trend short-wheel base which starts at $56,590 before on-road costs and extends to the top-of-the-range grade at $62,990.Volkswagen’s reveal of the Transporter's arrival timing came during a broader announcement detailing the brand’s upcoming commercial vehicles including the Caddy light cargo carrier, the electric ID. Buzz retro Kombi, the larger Crafter and the new-generation and just-arrived Multivan people mover.

The Ford Ranger might have found itself back on top of Australia’s sales charts in March, but a dig into the numbers reveal cracks in the sales ambitions of the Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max.

MG locks in a dual-cab ute for Australia.

One of the oldest vans on the market is showing no sign of retiring anytime soon with the LDV G10+ appearing to have been given a substantial facelift, which includes new safety tech, a large media screen, new styling and features.The new version wears a $1500 price rise, which still undercuts rivals such as the Toyota HiAce and Ford Transit by a sizable margin.Importantly, it's clear the new G10+ has been fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which was a large oversight in its spec previously. This change would ensure the G10+ would meet the new 2026 minimum safety standards requiring AEB come as standard on all new vehicles.Lane keeping assistance and forward collision warning will also join rear parking sensors, a reversing camera driver and passenger airbags, plus electronics stability control as part of the van's new safety suite.Other new G10+ features CarsGuide spotted include a 12.3-inch media screen, replacing the previous 7.0-inch display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is also standard, so is digital radio, air conditioning and power windows. It was also noted that the brands website now only lists diesel variants, which could indicate the petrol engine has been dropped, at least initially. The latest price data shows the new G10+ has also increased in price. The entry six-speed manual 2.0-litre turbo-diesel is now $38,937, drive-away, which is a $1579 increase on the previous model. Meanwhile, the G10+ with the eight-speed automatic is now $39,463 (also up by $1579). For context, Toyota’s HiAce (the most popular vehicle in the segment) starts at a list price of $48,886, while the Ford Transit begins at $56,590.Images also reveal a slight redesign to the front of the vehicle with a new look honeycomb grille and restyled front bumper, as well as a tweaked dash layout. Measuring 5167mm end-to-end, 1980mm wide, 1938mm tall and with a one-tonne payload capacity the G10+ is considered a medium-sized van. It has been on sale in Australia for a decade this year, yet it still remains one of the most-bought medium sized vans on the market with 2843 sales in 2024.It appears LDV still sees a place for the G10+ to live alongside the new and more expensive Deliver 7, which was once touted to replace its aging sibling. The Deliver7 arrived towards the end of 2024 with a price of $44,726 driveaway, although it was headlined primarily by its electric eDeliver 7 spin-off, which wears a competitive price-tag of $67,358 (drive-away).

The rapid and seemingly unstoppable expansion of Chinese carmakers is something to behold.But is it too far-fetched to think all cars will be Chinese within the next 20 years? Or is it naive not to see it as a strong possibility?For a long time I’ve thought the emergence of new Chinese cars in Australia and globally was the natural progression of the car industry. New brands morph from alternative fledgling brands to mature and established ones. We saw this with Japanese brands such as Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan which gained popularity in the 1960s and ’70s before becoming established go-to brands in the 1980s and ’90s as they fought homegrown heroes Ford and Holden for space in Australia's driveways. And it stayed that way until the first decade of the 2000s ticked over.Holden and Ford’s ranges and sales shrank giving way to the Koreans who filled the gap with Hyundai and Kia which have climbed high into the top 10 thanks to an excellent range of SUVs and EVs.They’re now marching towards the only brands that stand in their way - Mitsubishi, Ford, Mazda and Toyota - which, by the way, have about three EVs between them.And given another five years Kia and Hyundai may have been able to topple Toyota from number one. But it might be too late for that. The presence of a large and fast-growing force is creating major uncertainty for the established brands in the Australian market - the rise and rise of Chinese brands. At the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands operating in Australia and this year we’re expecting at least another seven to arrive. To put that in perspective we currently have a total of 50 car brands in Australia and nine are Japanese. By the end of 2025 the Chinese tally could easily be 20 brands or 30 per cent of Australia's brand make up.Several Chinese brands have been in Australia for years and have already done the hard yards. It took MG a couple of attempts to find a foothold but it was the seventh best-selling brand in 2024, while GWM came in at 10th. LDV is further down but still sold more than 16,000 vehicles here last year.The newer Chinese arrivals show huge promise with most of them offering affordable electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids when the established brands have only a handful among them, usually at higher prices.BYD, Zeekr, Leapmotor, Geely, Deepal, XPeng, Smart, JAC, Aion, Chery and Jaecoo will spend 2025 launching a multitude of new vehicles here. BYD will be one to watch having sold more cars here last year than Mercedes-Benz and it will likely enter the top 10 best sellers next year. Geely, which is the ‘Volkswagen of China’ in terms of its size and how many brands it owns, is another to watch.Chinese car manufacturers' speed of production, the development of new platforms and technology, the low cost of batteries, availability of electronics and the breakthroughs being made in charging systems, plus the sheer amount of money and Chinese government support behind them make competition almost impossible for many other brands.It’s almost certain that some established brands will bow out of Australia, unable to compete with Chinese brands. It’s also feasible that within the next decade more than half the Australian market could be made up of Chinese brands. And surely some Chinese brands won’t be able to cut it here and leave, too.Who could survive? Well, time has shown that even the mighty like Holden have fallen if they don’t make the cars people want to buy. The sheer brute force of Chinese brands being able to offer what people want quickly and at a low price, and at an always improving tech level could be too difficult for many other brands to fight off.In an extreme scenario this could lead to a 100 per cent Chinese brand market within 15 years. Sounds far fetched? Well they’re a third of the way there already.  

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).

A new value-packed eight-seat family-hauler has arrived Down Under.Chinese brand LDV has added an extra seat to its affordable Mifa people-mover.The Mifa competes against the all-conquering Kia Carnival, which outsells the Mifa by about 20 to one, and the Hyundai Staria.LDV’s Mifa kicks off at $46,971 drive-away for the base seven-seat Mode version. The eight-seat Mode costs $47,990 drive-away.The cheapest Kia Carnival is about $8000 more at $54,690 drive-away.LDV Australia boss, Dinesh Chinnappa, said maintaining value for families was important.“Value is extremely important in the family-car market and we are proud to be able to offer a full-size eight-seat people-mover for $47,990 drive-away,” he said. “We have been working with the factory on an eight-seat option for some time and we are delighted that we can finally deliver this option to our customers.”All Mifa variants are powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine making 160kW and 360Nm. This is paired to an eight-speed automatic that drives the front wheels.Buyers of the entry-grade Mode can expect a wide array of safety tech that covers all bases and helped the Mifa achieve a five-star ANCAP safety rating.Seven-seat versions have three child seat ISOFIX and top-tether anchor points and the eight-seat version has four.There are 18-inch alloy wheels and LED lighting front and back.Inside there is a 12.3-inch central multimedia screen paired with a seven-inch digital instrument display.The Executive grade ups the ante with a power-operated tailgate and dual power-sliding side doors. There are 19-inch alloy wheels and other luxe items such as power-adjustable front seats, surround-view camera and a wireless device charging pad among others.The range-topping Luxe grade adds ambient lighting, leather-trimmed seats, heated and cooled front seats, a 12-speaker stereo and second-row captain’s chairs that are power adjustable, heated, cooled and have a massage function.The eight-seat Mifa is due in showrooms this month.

Utes are Australia’s most popular type of vehicle, but which models offer the best resale value when the time comes to selling them? CarsGuide’s analytics team crunched the numbers so that we could bring you this exclusive report. 

MG India has revealed a new seven-seat SUV, which could rival popular ladder-frame-based models as a facelift to one of its Indian-market offerings.

Australia’s new car market rose very slightly in volume in 2024 compared to 2023 - but it wasn’t good news across the board.