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Big electric car shake-up coming? Can the 2025 Kia EV5 and MG4 knock the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 off their throne and can the BYD Seal, BYD Atto 3 and BYD Dolphin make a comeback
By Dom Tripolone · 06 Feb 2025
A new world order is forming in the electric car segment in Australia.Tesla and BYD might not be the mighty forces they once were as two EV princes wait in the wings to snatch the crown.The Tesla Model Y, which was streets ahead of the rest in sales through 2024, has come back to the pack.Tesla sales were down 33 per cent in January, following a more than 16 per cent drop in 2024.It shifted just 465 Model Ys and 274 Model 3s. The Model Y was still the best selling electric car in Australia in January but it was down on its usual performance of more than 1500 a month in 2024.An updated version of the Model Y is due in coming months, but it will be significantly more expensive. The current version will likely be in short supply until that point meaning it could give others a head start in the EV sales race.BYD sales also fell off a cliff in January down almost 50 per cent. Sales of its plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 SUV kept the brand afloat but EV sales were down dramatically with the Atto 3 down 77.4 per cent, Dolphin down 66.8 per cent and Seal down 91.2 per cent.Recent port issues are likely to blame for part of the slow sales, but the brand has also announced new cheaper variants of the Dolphin and Atto 3 to boost sales.Surely it's just a blip on the radar and both brands will roar back in the coming months, but what if they don't reach the same EV heights as before?This could open the opportunity for the Kia EV5 and MG4 electric cars to have a crack at the Model Y’s crown.The MG4 was the second best selling EV in January with 440 sales and the EV5 was third with 289.A big selling point for the MG and Kia are their warranties: MG has a 10 year/250,000km guarantee and Kia has a seven year/unlimited km security blanket. Both easily trump Tesla’s four year/80,000km warranty.Both also sell through a conventional dealer model rather than a majority online portal like BYD and Tesla.Both the MG4 and EV5 are both built in China, same as the Australian delivered Teslas, which give them the same price, supply and short shipping advantage as the market leaders.Australians also now have far more choice in the electric car space compared to 12 months ago. A wave of new brands from China include Deepal, Geely, Leapmotor, XPeng and Zeekr, which all launched with Model Y sized alternatives cheaper than their big name rival.Those brands — with the exception of Leapmotor — don't yet report sales.Conventional car makers have started to bring their own EVs online to help dilute the market that was very concentrated on just a few brands a year ago.The chances are Tesla will rebound in the coming months from its January sales, in what is a traditionally slow month for the brand.Kia is unlikely to muster the 25,000 EV5 sales needed to claim the top spot with the brand predicting a run rate of 400 a month in 2025.MG on the other hand has shown it is willing to heavily discount the MG4 to boost sales.For a short period it was the cheapest electric car on sale during 2024, with the base model costing just a smidge more than $30,000 drive-away. The price cut saw MG4s fly off the lot, outselling both Tesla models combined in October 2024.This year will be a challenge for many of the large electric car sellers as cost of living pressures bite and the well has run dry of early adopters willing to pay overs for the zero-emissions tech.
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Dual-cab disaster! Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max ute sales plummet as Australia's new-car market stumbles in January
By Andrew Chesterton · 05 Feb 2025
EV sales are "remarkably low", overall vehicle sales are dropping, and ute sales across our most popular brands have plummeted as Australia's new-car market gets off to a shaky start in January.
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'Biggest year in Tesla history': Why 2025 is a make-or-break year for Tesla as the Model 3, Model Y face competition from a wave of Chinese rivals such as the BYD Sealion 7 and Xpeng G6 | Opinion
By Samuel Irvine · 05 Feb 2025
When Tesla CEO Elon Musk called 2025 the “biggest year in Tesla history” at a recent investors meeting, he was right, though not for the reason of becoming the world’s biggest company as he might think.
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Why Tesla is giving the Chinese car industry a leg up - and why Aussies could be the big winners with cheaper versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y and more cut-price alternatives from BYD, GWM and MG | Opinion
By Stephen Ottley · 03 Feb 2025
Australians could be the big winners of the car industry fight between the two biggest powerhouses, as the American and Chinese duke it out on electric vehicles and tariffs.
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Is Tesla tanking? Profits plummet, Model 3 and Model Y owners abandon ship, and Chinese car brands wait to pick up the pieces
By Andrew Chesterton · 01 Feb 2025
Cracks seem to be appearing in the good ship Tesla, with net profit tanking, some fans seemingly abandoning the company, and other EV brands waiting to scoop up any disgruntled customers.
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Cheaper electric cars still coming: Tesla confirms watered-down cut-price electric cars as lower spec Model 3 and Model Y are on track for early 2025 to keep Chinese competitors such as BYD, Deepal, Geely and Xpeng under pressure
By Samuel Irvine · 30 Jan 2025
Tesla has confirmed that new “affordable” models are still on track for release in the first half of this year.Details on how exactly the budget models will take shape aren’t clear yet, but Tesla confirmed the watered-down new models will utilise aspects of its current and next generation platforms in its 2024 Q4 investor report.Production will also take place on pre-existing production lines, suggesting that previous speculation of a stripped-back Model 3, and potentially Model Y, was correct.That is likely to translate to a smaller battery pack, along with less standard features on both models.Tesla has previously floated a 53kWh battery pack over the current model 3 and Y’s 60kWh unit.What other features the cars lose in exchange for a lower price tag is unclear. Both models come equipped with power-adjustable, artificial leather upholstered seats with heating and ventilation functions, a panoramic sunroof and 19-inch wheels.Those features could be walked back as Tesla aims for an estimated price near the USD$25,000 ($40,000) mark, as has been floated by the brand since as far back as 2020 when news of future budget models was first announced.The investor report went further than just confirmation of budget models, too, adding that a suite of technical features currently employed on the Tesla Cybertruck would make their way onto future vehicles.That includes steer-by-wire technology, 800V charging infrastructure, 48V electrical architecture, bi-direction charging, rear-wheel steering, laminated windows and adaptive air suspension, just to name a few.Given that future affordable models are expected to receive fewer features, not more, it is probably safe to assume that these will be bypassed on any future budget Teslas.We could see them on a future Tesla Roadster, which remains in the brand’s product plans despite lengthy delays.The first Roadster concept, a second-generation model of Tesla’s very first electric car, was unveiled all the way back in 2017 with a huge 200kWh battery pack, 1000km of range and a claimed zero-100km/h sprint time of just 1.8 seconds.Full-scale production has been delayed for years, with long-suffering deposit holders, some of which have put forward up to USD$50,000 ($80,000), receiving no respite today.The announcements today came as Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, heralded 2025 as the “biggest year in Tesla history”, with concerns over the brand's first-ever annual delivery decline in 2024 and mounting pressure from Chinese electric car brands unfolding in the background.Tesla stock fell around 4.0 per cent in after hours trading.
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'I'm ashamed to drive it': Could Elon's antics be the beginning of the end for Tesla as fans fight among themselves and company ranking drops below Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai?
By Andrew Chesterton · 26 Jan 2025
Elon Musk's antics are causing division among Tesla fans in Australia, with dedicated Facebook group members turning on each other over the CEO's actions, with some defending Musk while others declare they're ashamed to drive their Tesla.It's the latest in a string of setbacks for the EV brand, which has faced slowing sales in Australia and globally, increased threat from Chinese brands, and was recently ranked behind Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai in the 2025 Brand Finance report.Globally, in 2024 the brand's deliveries fell for the first time, down one per cent to a total 1.79 million. In Australia, the fall was steeper, down 16.9 per cent to 38,347 sales.Compiled by the eponymous London research and consulting firm, the Brand Finance report looks at more than market capitalisation, instead surveying some 175,000 respondents on things like brand value, reputation and company image.The 2025 result saw Tesla slip to fourth in the auto rankings.“There are people who think (Elon Musk is) wonderful, but many that don’t,” said Brand Finance CEO, David Haigh“If you are buying electric vehicles, his persona is highly likely to impact your view of whether or not you want to buy one of his company’s cars, but that’s only one of many factors."Unless Tesla can come up with a whole range of new products that will really excite consumers, and unless they can mitigate some of the antagonism caused by their leader, they will be seen as past their peak and will begin to go down."And now Musk's very public antics are causing divisions among the brand's fans in Australia, with dedicated FB groups seemingly split over whether Musk's recent string of controversies – throwing his support behind known climate change denier Donald Trump in America's presidential race, executing what has been interpreted by some as a Nazi salute at a Republican rally, and reportedly laying the blame for the Californian wildfires at the feet of female firefighters, either because of the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation, to name but a few – would stop them buying another Tesla."I love the car, but I’m ashamed to drive it. Will look to trade it when I can afford to," one user wrote – a view shared by other users.Other users say they are turning to bumper stickers that read "I bought this before Elon went crazy" to let their feeling be known.But others still defend the company's boss, declaring Elon a "a once in a generation entrepreneur and leader - transformational, visionary, inspirational, unstoppable" and declaring the negative feedback a "leftist, false narrative".All of this comes as Tesla prepared to launch its most important model –a refreshed Model Y codenames Juniper that should launch in Australia around the middle of the year.
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Tesla Model Y bargains! Up to $8000 cut from electric SUV pricing in run-out sale as BYD Sealion 7, Xpeng G6 and Kia EV5 competitor awaits upgraded model
By Samuel Irvine · 22 Jan 2025
Tesla is swinging the sales axe on its outgoing Model Y ahead of the updated model's release in May, offering discounts of up to $8000.Final pricing and stock availability will depend on which state you live in, as well as the additional features you add to your Model Y. Tesla's before on-road costs pricing factors in delivery costs and order fees.As a general rule in each state, though, at least $4000 has been wiped off the entry-level Rear-Wheel Drive’s starting price, $7000 off the mid-spec Long-Range All-Wheel Drive and $8000 off of the top-spec Performance.If you live in Queensland, you can snag the cheapest deal of all at $53,700, before on-road costs, for a Rear-Wheel Drive. That equates to a drive-away price of $55,475.That compares to $55,700, before on-road costs, for the cheapest option in Victoria, which gets a drive-away price of $59,544. It does add larger 20-inch Induction wheels, though.As standard, the Rear-Wheel Drive variant comes with a 60kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery pack that delivers 445km of WLTP-rated driving range and a single rear axle-mounted electric motor that delivers 220kW of power.Stepping up to the Long Range All-Wheel Drive version, this time it's South Australians who get the best deal. SA residents can snag a mid-spec Model Y for $64,300, before on-road costs, with a drive-away price of $68,171.The same car will cost you $69,437 drive-away in Australia’s next cheapest state – Queensland.In return, buyers get 533km of WLTP-rated driving range thanks to a larger 81kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack. All-wheel drive is also standard thanks to an additional front axle-mounted electric motor.The range-topping Model Y Performance is in far more limited numbers than the rest of the range, with only Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia showing available stock.A blanket $80,400, before on-road costs, price tag exists across all three states, but the cheapest drive-away pricing is found in Tasmania at $84,673.South Australia is priced at $84,915, while Victoria is the most expensive at $85,287.The Performance carries the same 81kWh NMC battery pack as the Long Range, but delivers an extra 127kW/150Nm for a total output of 413kW/660Nm.Its zero to 100km/h sprint time is clocked at a staggering 3.6 seconds, while its WLTP-rated range drops back to 514km.All Model Ys will be covered by a four-year/limited kilometre warranty, while the battery and drive unit are covered by an eight-year/192,000km warranty.Interested buyers should contact their nearest Tesla dealer quickly as the deal is only scheduled to run while stocks last.The updated Model Y will arrive in Australia in May under a special ‘Launch Edition’ variant.It gets a design refresh, additional technology and comfort features, as well as a steeper price tag of at least $7500 and $3500 over the current Rear-Wheel Drive and Long Range All-Wheel Drive variants, respectively.
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