Tesla News

From the moment Tesla boss Elon Musk asked his chief designer to demonstrate the strength of its ‘armoured windows’ only to exclaim “Oh my f#cking god” when the windows shattered, Tesla’s Cybertruck has been in trouble. That was back in November of 2019, the first public appearance of the radical electric ‘pickup’ that the company promised would shake-up the lucrative pickup market in the US. But six years later, almost to the day, Musk has shattered the Cybertruck completely - not just the windows. “Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production,” Musk posted on his social media platform, X. To borrow a line from The Simpson’s Rainier Wolfcastle: ‘There were script problems from day one.’ From the moment of that poorly executed reveal and window test (it turned out to be somewhat prophetic that Tesla would try to protect the truck from vandals) the Cybertruck never really recovered. The looks were unlike anything else on the market, and at the very least the ‘Cybertruck’ name was very appropriate for a ute that looks like it belongs in a cyberpunk video game. On the plus side, it meant the Tesla stood out dramatically from its would-be rivals, the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and even the Rivian R1T electric ute. But, on the flipside, it meant it was incredibly polarising and undoubtedly limited its appeal. It’s not usually a good thing when people compare your new car to a bin, but the Cybertruck quickly received many comparisons to US ‘dumpsters’ thanks to its angular, stainless steel body. It didn’t help that it took longer than promised to get to market (although that is typical for Tesla’s, just as a Roadster customer), initially slated for a 2021 launch it finally went into production in late 2023. But things only got worse from there. When it did finally hit the road, Musk’s original claim of a US$39,990 starting price turned out to be very wide of the mark. As did his sales forecasts. The first production models started from US$60,990 and only got more expensive from there, stretching to US$99,990 for the range-topping tri-motor version. Except, by the time that US$60,990 rear-wheel drive version actually appeared on the road, it was early 2025 - two years after it was supposed to be on sale. And even then, it didn’t even last a full calendar year in production before it was axed due to low demand. Which might have been impacted by the fact it actually cost US$69,990. Confused? It’s all part of a pattern of disappointment that surrounded the Cybertruck. It was recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 11 times during its production run. Musk originally projected sales of up to 250,000 trucks per year, which ended up being extremely wide of the mark. In its first full year on sale, 2024, Tesla sold just 38,965 and in ‘25 that number dropped to 20,237. SpaceX, the rocket company that Musk is also the CEO of, ended up being the biggest customer. The company revealed it bought US$131 million worth of Cybertrucks in 2025 alone, to help prop up both sides of Musk’s business interests. The lack of demand was highlighted by Musk’s move into politics during the 2024 US presidential elections. To be crystal clear, this is an automotive website and we don’t typically discuss politics, but when it comes to Musk you can no longer separate him as Tesla CEO and his involvement in US (and global) politics. The US political scene is strongly divided between the two parties - Republicans and Democrats - and Musk’s decision to strongly side with the Republicans and Donald Trump made him a lightning rod for criticism. He became directly involved in US politics, taking on a role as a ‘special government employee’ in January 2025 and creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and oversaw the cutting of more than 300,000 government jobs. In the wake of this Tesla, and in particular the Cybertruck, became highly-politicised and many dealerships and pickups were vandalised by protesters while Musk was serving his role in government. That unquestionably impacted its sales potential, limiting its audience to those who either agreed with his politics or were able to overlook it. But by the time Musk stepped away from his official role the damage was already done and the Cybertruck was in its terminal decline. On top of all these problems there was one fundamental issue that doomed the Cybertruck to failure from day one - people don’t want electric utes. In fairness, it wasn’t as clear then, with Ford, Ram and Chevrolet all talking up the possibility and potential for electric pickups in the US. But since 2019 it has become painfully clear to all car makers than there simply isn’t a large enough audience for electric utes. The Ford F-150 Lightning has already ceased production and Ram cancelled plans for its electric ute having seen the struggles. The Silverado EV and Rivian R1T are still going but are very small players in the massive US pickup market. So, add this on top of the shattered windows, delayed production, inflated price, political connotations and radical looks it’s not surprising that the Cybertruck will go down in automotive history as one of the biggest flops on four wheels.

The numbers for October 2026 are in, and electric vehicles have officially outsold utes, marking a change in climate for the Australian new car market. A total of 24,845 electric vehicles were sold in October, eclipsing the total ute segment, which accounted for 19,431 units across 4x2, 4x4 and those costing in excess of $100,000. Of those 19,431 utes sold, 327 of them were also fully electric, up 330 per cent from the prior year. There were 6040 electric cars and 19,478 electric SUVs sold in the same period. Electric is now the leading fuel type for cars, and the second best selling fuel type for SUVs after petrol. Electric vehicles are the second best selling fuel type in October, even eclipsing petrol and hybrids for the month, landing within 1000 units of diesel. Year-to-date the Australian market has eclipsed 1 million units, with nearly 1/3rd of them still being petrol (293,298 units) and over a quarter being diesel (258,361 units). Electric vehicles so far account for 205,436 sales, but the fuel type has grown over 175 per cent for the year, where diesel has fallen 16.3 per cent and petrol has fallen 27.6 per cent. The biggest winners in October for electric cars are the Tesla Model Y (3105 units), BYD Sealion 7 (2524 units), Geely EX5 (1789 units) and Zeekr’s 7X (1441 units). Other popular options in the market include the Geely EX2 hatchback (1350 units), Jaecoo J5 EV (1117 units) and Tesla’s Model 3 (945 units). Meanwhile the ute segment is in the midst of a downturn after years of record popularity. Winners for October include the HiLux (5954 units), Ford Ranger (4841 units), BYD Shark 6 (1843 units), Isuzu D-Max (1599 units) and Mitsubishi Triton (1056 units). In total (including 4x4 and 4x2 models) the segment is down 11.42 per cent to 176,240 units from nearly 200,000 units this time last year. The numbers make sense. Diesel has been hit particularly hard by the impact of the war in Iran, which has caused a 94 cent price rise per litre from this time last year. The average price per litre for diesel in Australia is now $2.63, a 55.6 per cent increase on the year prior. This is due to inelastic demand for the fuel type, with private and small business utes competing with the wider commercial sector for the fuel. Meanwhile petrol is currently averaging $2.35 per litre, a more modest 72 cent increase from this time last year. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, this means Australians, on average, are paying $546 more per year for fuel than they were in 2025. Combine this with the government’s current FBT exemption program and New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) forcing an influx of pure electric options to the market, and it’s a potent cocktail for automakers with competitive electric car line-ups. This has benefitted Tesla and newer Chinese brands, which largely have managed to meet the market with hybrid and fully electric vehicles that are at or near price parity with their combustion counterparts from so-called ‘legacy’ brands. A prime example is BYD’s fully electric Atto 1 city car becoming Australia’s most affordable new car earlier this year. For the ute segment specifically, BYD’s PHEV-only Shark 6 and GWM’s Cannon and Cannon Alpha which offer PHEV variants have received significant buyer attention, up 1.6 and 9.2 per cent respectively in a market which has otherwise significantly shrunk.

Aussie buyers have a new favourite passenger car, and it’s an EV.  The Tesla Model Y has had a monster 2026, but it’s now claimed the scalp of one of Australia’s stalwarts.  The Model Y has shifted 39,035 units up to October 2026, outselling the Toyota RAV4’s 35,927. It marks a sustained change in Australia’s new car buying market, with an EV claiming the best-selling passenger car spot.  With 2026 edging towards its conclusion, it looks like the Model Y will solidify the historic feat.  Soaring fuel prices and increasing fuel insecurity have encouraged many buyers to make the jump to an electric car, and the Model Y has been at the forefront for this transition. The Electric Vehicle Council’s ‘State of EVs’ report found one in every four cars sold were either electric or plug-in hybrid.  The Model Y has broken record after record in Australia.  In May 2026, it became the first-ever fully-electric car to claim the title for the best-selling car in a single month, toppling the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux diesel ute duopoly.  In June 2026, it achieved the highest monthly sales since the Holden Commodore in the early 2000s with 8072 deliveries.  Tesla also added more variety to its Model Y line-up when it released a six-seater variant called the Model Y L in March 2026.  This three-row Tesla prompted substantial buyer interest and outsold the standard two-row Model Y in July and August 2026.  The Japanese brand launched its next-generation Toyota RAV4 in Australia in March 2026, but it wasn’t smooth sailing to get to that point.  Wait times on new Toyotas have been a major talking point in Australia recently, especially for popular models like the RAV4.  The brand is seemingly still grappling with the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns that ravaged its supply chains.  The much-anticipated new-generation RAV4 suffered from significant delays of almost a year, partly caused by a slow production process.  The Model Y has had no such issues.  The majority of Model Y units are built in China using high-tech gigacasting to mould large pieces of the bodywork into a single piece instead of slower individual welding.  Tesla also delivers to Australia on a quarterly cadence, which has allowed them to keep up with increased demand.  Toyota’s sales dipped substantially in the first half of 2026, with the new RAV4 holding the key to the juggernaut turning its fortunes around.  Buyers tend to hold off buying a current generation of a car when the new model is just around the corner. This proved to be the case for the RAV4, with the SUV down more than 70 per cent year-on-year up to March 2026.  The RAV4 has since surged up the sales charts, but it’s been unable to hold off the unstoppable Model Y that keeps getting more popular. 

Many Aussie have bought their first ever EV in 2026 and it’s changed the new car market forever. The Iran war's impact on fuel prices is often put forward as a key reason why more people than ever are making the electric car switch, but that's not the full story. Ed Harvey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Australasian home EV charger manufacturer Evnex, told CarsGuide it was fuel security that started to sway buyers. “It flipped the argument,” Harvey said. “The fuel prices have not just really strengthened the cost-saving argument, but also I think it's the first time that people really started talking about energy security or transport security.” Range anxiety has put many buyers off EVs.  It combines a fear of running out of charge with having nowhere to charge it. Harvey said the fuel crisis brought about by the Iran war and the closing of the integral Strait of Hormuz in March 2026 started to change buyer perception. Buyers can now save as much as $3600 a year in just fuel costs by making the EV switch, according to Evnex's research, but Harvey said fuel security also started to cause anxiety with panic fuel buying leading to localised shortages. The federal government relaxed fuel standards and released reserves, while launching a $20 million “Every little bit helps” fuel conservation advertising campaign. Harvey said it was fuel availability not fuel prices that "flipped the script" for many buyers. Drivers worried about where they could fill up as opposed to where they could charge up, for the first time. “I think that really changed how people thought about energy security and our reliance on imported fossil fuels,” Harvey said. “I knew some people with petrol or diesel vehicles that were asking friends to borrow electric vehicles for the holiday period because they were nervous they might not be able to get where they needed to go.” BYD Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins told CarsGuide higher fuel prices and fuel shortages contributed to exponential EV uptake earlier in 2026. Collins described the early stages of the fuel crisis period as a “pivotal point” and an “unprecedented time”. “That March, early April period - I think it was genuinely only a four-week period where we saw a big spike in orders,” Collins said. “I think there were a lot of people that were on the cusp of buying an EV and that tipped a lot of people into ‘I’ll just make the decision now’. “It was a pretty tumultuous time, so I think there’s some truth to that.” The Electric Vehicle Council’s (EVC) 2026 ‘State of EVs’ report found buyers purchased one EV every 100 seconds in the first half of 2026. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales contributed to more than a quarter of all new car sales in the first half of the year, compared to roughly one in every 10 in the first half of 2025. Where there are competitive EV choices, buyers are making the switch, such as the mid-size SUV segment. The BYD Sealion 7, Geely EX5 and Tesla Model Y have consistently featured among the best-selling cars in Australia in 2026, and have experienced unprecedented growth. There hasn’t been the same growth in some other large segments of the market, and this is because competitive EV choices are still emerging, according to Electric Vehicle Council Chair and Origin Energy E-mobility GM Chau Le. “In each of these segments, EVs are becoming competitive, but we're not quite there yet in some of the segments,” Le told CarsGuide. “We're still a bit out, but with more EV models coming in and improvement in battery technology, it's only a matter of time until we're competitive across all segments.” There are no electrified utes that reach the balance of affordability, capability and driveability that their diesel counterparts have yet. Diesel-powered utes like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux continue to be a significant component of the new car market. Once competitive electric ute choices emerge, the ute segment will likely follow a similar transformation to the rest of the new car market. New car buyers' priorities have shifted permanently, and there's nothing fuel prices or supplies can do to change it.

Australia’s EV buying growth has just been put on a global scale. AutoNews has released its “Global EV Report” looking at electric vehicle uptake around the world. Combined fully-electric and plug-in hybrid sales in Australia grew from just one per cent in 2025 to 15 per cent by 2025. The report confirmed BYD as the world’s leading EV manufacturers, with Tesla and Geely also making major contributions, which is reflected in their sales performance Down Under. It’s forecast that more than 66 per cent of the world’s EVs will be built in China in 2026.  Australia’s EV sales grew by 14 percentage points between 2020 and 2025, according to the report, which is more than South Korea, the United States and New Zealand for the same period.  Australia’s EV uptake still lags behind many of the world’s biggest markets.  China’s EV sales have grown by 47 points, while EV sales in the United Kingdom grew from 11 per cent to 35 per cent.  This news follows the Electric Vehicle Council’s “State of EV’s” report that found one in four new vehicles sold in the first half of 2026 were either fully-electric or PHEV in Australia. The EVC noted sales must still increase tenfold to reach a targeted five million EVs on Aussie roads by 2035.  Australia’s market is well set up for large-scale EV uptake because it has limited import restrictions and associated costs compared to other countries.  This differs from Europe, for example, which has placed hefty tariffs on Chinese imported EVs as it aims to protect its local carmaking industry.  Australia's open market allows Chinese automakers to rapidly roll out new models Down Under, several of which have become top sellers. The predominantly China-built Tesla Model Y mid-size SUV is the best-selling EV in Australia, while the closely-rivaling BYD Sealion 7 isn’t far behind.  Other EVs, including the Geely EX5 and Zeekr 7X have also taken the market by storm in 2026, at the expensive of some Australia's previous petrol- and diesel-powered favourites. Nepal led global EV market share growth between 2020 and 2025 with a 58 percentage point jump, with electric and plug-in hybrid representing 68 per cent of all new vehicle sales.  Vietnam also saw substantial growth, going from no EV sales to 41 per cent in the five-year period.  Singapore saw a comparable surge, climbing from three per cent in 2020 to 40 per cent in 2025. Norway had an incredible 97 per cent of its new car sales that were represented by EV and PHEV in 2025. The United States has one of the worst EV uptake rates for the period, according to AutoNews.  It only grew from two per cent to 10 per cent across the five years, with only Canada and New Zealand recording less growth.  This slower uptake is due to trade barriers such as the US government’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made EVs, as well as national security and surveillance concerns restricting imports further.  While BYD, Tesla and Geely produce the most EVs, Volkswagen also registers a strong contribution, along with Leapmotor and Hyundai.

Tesla has just announced some serious discounts to its existing stock in Australia as it fends off increasingly tough competition. Existing and demonstrator Model Y SUV examples are available from $61,020 (drive-away), which is $2950 less than before, according to the brand. The Model Y usually starts from $58,900, before on-road costs. This deal makes the Model Y more competitive with its key rivals, the BYD Sealion 7 and Zeekr 7X, which start from $54,990 and $57,900, respectively, both before on-road costs. This news follows Tesla slashing the price of its top grade ‘Performance’ variant from $89,400 to $84,900 in October 2026. Tesla is also offering discounts on its Model 3 sedan with demonstrator and existing examples of the Premium RWD starting from $57,733 (drive-away), equating to $3530 off. The Premium RWD variant usually starts from $54,900 and is a step up from the base Model 3 that now starts from $45,900 (before on-road costs) in Australia. It also means it’s priced more closely to the Premium grade of the BYD Seal that starts from $52,990 (before on-road costs). The Model 3 doesn’t sell as prolifically as its Model Y SUV sibling, but it still managed to shift 5775 units up to September 2026, which is more than the BYD Seal (3808). The Model 3 is available with a single electric motor that produces 190kW and 375Nm or dual motors, producing 343kW and 741Nm. The Model Y also has single or dual electric motor options, producing 220kW/420Nm, 378kW/493Nm, or 461kW/741Nm. The Model Y is the best-selling electric car in the world, and Australia is no exception. It’s shifted 43,386 units up to September 2026. This is more than the BYD Sealion 7 (19,964) and the Zeekr 7X (12,006) combined, but these rivals are rapidly gaining popularity. The mid-size SUV segment is the most hotly contested in the market, and the Model Y is now facing an influx of new and affordable electric SUV rivals in Australia in 2026. The Geely EX5 ($41,990) has seen a similar popularity increase to the Sealion 7 and 7X, while the Lepas L6 ($47,990) has just gone on sale Down Under.

It has taken nearly a decade of development, but Tesla has finally done it - they have made the world’s dumbest car. And, in true Tesla style, they have over-delivered on their promise (a decade in the making), making it incredibly dangerous, too.  I’m not mad at the world’s media, including many of my motoring colleagues, for falling for the hype, I’m just disappointed. Because there are some pretty major holes in what Elon Musk and his team at Tesla showed off last week. Of course, that was the point, show off some flashy gimmicks and make everyone pay attention to these wild stunts and not question the ‘how’ and the ‘why’, as well as the major safety issues it raises.  Let’s start with the obvious - it’s not a flying car. As Buzz Lightyear would say, it was “falling with style” rather than taking flight. As for its ‘flip’ over the rest of Tesla’s line-up, to say that it was ‘flying’ would be akin to saying skateboards can fly.  The demonstration, while unquestionably real and not AI and understandably attention-grabbing, was not a true reflection of what Tesla and Musk are promising. Evidence suggests it was basically a full-scale drone, with no human inside and it was seemingly just a simple ladder-frame chassis with a body on top and thrusters and fans underneath. Musk admitted that they didn’t have a human inside the car “to make sure we don't kill anyone!” Which is not particularly reassuring from a brand that has consistently ‘beta tested’ technologies on public roads with owners.  Musk also said: “Now I should say that this is not necessarily a safety optimised car, but it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10.” I’m all for having fun with cars, but safety must come first. To be candid, most motorists have a hard enough time driving safely on the ground. Adding in the complexity of flight is simply a recipe for disaster. Tesla has said the ‘flying’ elements will be autonomous, but again, based on the autonomous functions already in cars not exactly working with a perfect track record, launching cars into the air with rocket thrusters just seems like a recipe for disaster.  It was able to climb the vertical ramp because it has a series of fans to suck it to the ground. But this is not new technology, it was introduced in Formula 1 in 1978 and more recently the McMurtry Sterling has demonstrated it too can hold itself in place upside down. Of course, no-one is actually going to drive upside down, that’s just more attention-seeking behaviour from Tesla, but it will help produce more downforce for the road and track. Lars Moravy, VP for vehicle engineering at Tesla, told US media that the car can produce so much downforce that: “When we’re accelerating, we can break the laws of tyre physics.”  Hopefully that means they’ll develop newer, stronger, physics-defying tyres. Or else I guess your tyres will be destroyed every time you accelerate too hard.  Tesla’s own disclaimer on the website makes it clear the Rocket version of the Roadster will not be available in all regions and will be “subject to each region's legal requirements and applicable laws”, which means each country will need to decide if it feels kick-flipping cars are something they want on the road.  Musk’s gloating about the car almost sounds like an admission that it will have very limited scope.  “This will be an actual car that's on the roads. I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions, but there will be such a car that someone can own,” he said.  The Plan B, or perhaps it's actually Plan A, is for a purpose-built test track facility to be built at Tesla’s headquarters in Texas. That would allow those invited to own the Roadster Rocket (because it is ‘invite only’) to have their fun in a private space, leaving the roads for proper cars. Although, once again it demonstrates the cult-like pull of Tesla and its limitation. If the special Texas facility is the only place you can fulfil its full potential, what does that mean for owners who don’t live in Texas? It’s hard to imagine Porsche or Ferrari telling customers they can only drive their expensive supercar in one specific location on Earth. Finally, perhaps the most important element that has been overlooked is that what we saw was not a production car. Nearly a decade after taking US$250,000 deposits for the second generation Roadster, Tesla is still yet to actually fire up the production line. No other car company on the planet, not even Ferrari or Lamborghini, could get away with taking people’s money and not delivering a car for over a decade. Sure, they’ve said it will enter production by 2028, but they’ve said it was going into production in the near-future since 2017. The fact that this car looks nothing like the original 2017 concept is another thing only Tesla can get away with, with its blindly-loyal customers. I do feel like Tesla will eventually put the Roadster into production (although I’d only say I’m 60 per cent confident), but the fact they have focused on the Rocket version and revealed little in the way of details about the Performance and Thrust variants that people will actually be able to buy is yet another red flag. While the attention-seeking unveiling of the Roadster did what it set out to do, making headlines and distracting from the massive delays, ultimately this is a car that answers questions nobody asked. People were happy with the idea of a second-generation Roadster that wasn’t based on a Lotus Elise and felt like it was built in an industrial estate by hand (which is very much what the first generation Roadster felt like). Instead, in what has become his calling card, Musk has pushed Tesla into unchartered territory for the car industry - for better or worse. I hope I’m wrong, but it feels inevitable that we’ll be writing about the first death of a Roadster driver not long after it enters production - whenever that may be. I loved watching Back to the Future II and day-dreaming of a flying car as much as the next kid, but when I grew up I realised the pure impracticality of flying cars and the dangers they create. There’s a reason why getting your pilot’s licence takes a lot longer than getting your driver’s licence.  This feels like the automotive equivalent of Google Glasses or Apple Vision Pro, technology designed by billionaires in Silicon Valley for millionaires in Silicon Valley (or, in this case, Texas) and that makes it as dumb as it is dangerous. But, after all this, if you’re still looking to buy a Tesla Roadster so you can jump over traffic or drive up walls, don’t spend your money yet because I have some magic beans to sell you…

Tesla has officially confirmed the Cybertruck electric pick-up will not be coming to Australia. The US electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer sent out emails earlier this morning to Australians who currently hold a deposit on the Tesla Cybertruck. “After careful consideration, plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued,” reads the email. “As a result, we’re unable to fulfil your reservation and it will be cancelled.” In addition to a refund of the deposit, Tesla is offering Australian Cybertruck reservation holders one year of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) if they order a new Model 3 or Model Y. While Tesla claimed back in mid-2025 that it was briefed on changes required to allow the Cybertruck to be approved for local sale, it appears the business case didn’t stack up. The Tesla Cybertruck was first revealed in prototype form in 2019 and after many delays, production began in 2023. At the time, the Cybertruck went up against the likes of the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T, among others. Demand for large electric pick-ups has since cooled, especially in North America. After intense initial demand for the Cybertruck, sales quickly dropped off. As it stands, Tesla still only offers two vehicles in Australia, the Model 3 and Model Y. The latter is firmly Australia’s best-selling EV and was the best-selling car overall for a few months earlier in 2026. Both the Model 3 and Model Y are offered with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology which allows it to drive to virtually any location itself, provided the driver is paying attention and is ready to take over at any point. Globally Tesla is still developing its Cybercab robotaxi fleet and most recently showed off its new Roadster which is capable of aerial acrobatics thanks to cold-gas thrusters. At this stage it’s unclear whether the Cybercab, nor the new Roadster will ever make their way to Australian shores, just like the Cybertruck.

For over a decade we’ve been told the sedan is dying. Sales have declined, the amount of options available has dwindled and buyers continue to gravitate to SUVs and utes. And yet, the sedan survives. But not just survive, new models are now arriving and sales for the total mid-size sedan market have been on the rise in 2026. Mid-size sedans, both mainstream and luxury, are up 18 per cent year-to-date to the end of September. Geely is the latest brand to believe there is a future for sedans, confirming the new Emgrand L plug-in hybrid will arrive in Australian showrooms next year to compete against the likes of the Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal and Mazda 6e. Despite the relatively-fresh competition and the recent sales growth, sedan sales are still amongst the smallest in the country. The best-selling sedan is the Toyota Camry, with 9471 sales to the end of September, which compares to 31,209 sales for the Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV. Geely Australia’s Director of Product Planning and Marketing, Andrew Tuitahi, said the brand is confident there will be buyers looking for an SUV alternative. “When it comes to Emgrand L EM-i that's designed to target a slightly different market, but we think there is an opportunity for a more traditionally styled sedan with high technology and alternate fuel offerings,” Tuitahi said. “There's a lot of metrics and a lot of research that we've conducted,” he added. “Certainly the response from customers is positive. The response from dealers is positive. And there are absolutely buyers who don't want to drive an SUV. They want something that looks a little bit more conventional, and they like that style of sedan.”  “ I think we'll put together a package and share it when we launch Emgrand. But certainly there is a buyer profile demographic that is finding sedans appealing,” he said. Looking at the latest sales figures there is a growing market for electric and plug-in hybrid sedans, led by the likes of the Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal and Seal 6 as well as the new Mazda 6e. All of those models have grown in volume in the first three quarters of 2026, although the Seal 6 and Mazda and both all-new models, so any sales would be incremental volume. While they have grown, that is from a small base and overall sales remain relatively small. Tesla has sold 5775 examples of the Model 3, which is a seven per cent increase on 2025, but that figure is dwarfed by the combined 35,930 sales of the Model Y and Y L. BYD has sold a combined 4727 Seal EV and Seal 6 PHEV sedans (and wagons), which does mean that two of the three best-selling sedans are electric, suggesting there is a demand from customers for efficient vehicles outside of the SUV market. However, it isn’t a large demand with the rest of the market contributing a combined 27,805 total mid-size sales, which is less than the RAV4 has managed on its own - just to underscore the dominance of SUVs. Kia’s EV4 has managed just 361 sales, the Skoda Octavia 340 and the MG MG7 only 230. Even the once popular premium sedans, including the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Class are down significantly in 2026. So, while Geely is confident there are buyers for the Emgrand L, and Tesla, BYD and Mazda are managing to make sedans work for them, the cold, hard fact remains that the traditional ‘four-door’ is unlikely to become a mainstream choice again for Australians. Sedans aren’t dead yet, but anyone expecting a resurgence shouldn’t be.

Tesla has built a literal Batmobile that can hang upside down, fly and land, with edgy aggressive styling. This is the long promised Roadster, almost a decade after it was first shown in concept form. At a cult-like event at SpaceX's facility in Texas, Tesla's supremo Elon Musk, Head of Design Franz von Holzhausen and Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy put on a show of the "world's best driver's car". The Roadster can hang upside down due to extreme downforce, which Musk said makes it the best car to corner and will “crush every record”. Tesla demonstrated the Roadster flying, doing a barrel roll, or kick-flip as Musk called it, and landing successfully with the help of actual rocket thrusters. Tesla has harnessed the power of Musk’s rocket company SpaceX to build the Roadster. It doesn’t use rocket fuel to undertake its airborne acrobatics, instead it uses compressed air for its thrusters. “It can fly like a rocket, can roll, do gymnastics and takes the fun metre to 11 out of 10,” said Musk. Musk said the Roadster was “unlike any car you’ve seen before” and ”better than any James Bond car”. It is a two-seater, seats are built into the chassis and it uses steer-by-wire. Lars Moravy said it is meant to be the best driver’s car, and the company had broken the laws of physics and it can corner at more than 2.0G. Thanks to its compressed air thrusters it can break the speed of sound and can hit 60mph (96km/h) in under one second. It did it in 0.81 seconds during a live test. “This will be long-term the only manually-driven car that Tesla makes,” Musk said. “If you are going to have only one manually-driven car let’s take it way past the limits." It was first revealed in concept form back in 2017, along with the Tesla Semi truck. One of those is already on the road. Those who have put down a deposit on the Roadster, which cost more than $75,000 in Australia, only have a little bit longer to wait, with Musk revealing the start of production. “(It will) enter production in 2028... actually,” said Musk.