Tesla Model Y 2024 News

According to the Chinese Zodiac 2025 is the ‘Year of the Wood Snake’ but it could prove to be the ‘Year of the Electric Car’ when we look back on it. That’s because electric vehicles (EVs) have a lot to prove in 2025 after surging (pun intended) and now seemingly in need of a recharge (pun also intended).

Tesla owners will get a virtual bag of goodies to end the year.The American electric car maker has announced its latest round of software updates for its vehicles this holiday period.The updates will lob into Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Australia via an over-the-air update next week.Owners will now be able to access a Tesla app on their Apple Watch that can work as a smart key and allow them to view battery charge, turn on climate control and open the frunk (cargo area under the bonnet).Owners can now watch clips from the in-built dashcam and Sentry Mode clips in the Tesla app on their smartphone and save them to edit or share.New versions of the Model 3, which don’t have a steering column mounted gear selector, will now have access to an Auto Shift function.This works when navigating in and out of car spots and multi-point turns by automatically switching between reverse and drive. Drivers will be asked to confirm the drive mode selection.Drivers can now select the preferred charging level for when they arrive at their destination. This will affect the vehicle’s trip planner that provides stop and charging duration along the route.Other upgrades to the inbuilt maps include search results that are now filtered to show options along your route and estimated detour times. Think a quick Maccas stop along the way and how long this will add to your trip.It’ll also now show rain on the map and the intensity of that rainfall.Teslas will now have rear cross traffic alert safety tech, too. It will sound an alarm if it detects a car coming from the side or rear as you reverse. This is in addition to the reversing auto braking function that is already standard.There are a few extra apps and games included in the car’s multimedia system, among other minor updates

Images of the new Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' appear to have begun leaking online, with a flurry of camouflaged images and some more offical-looking shots appearing on international media sites.

Is the Toyota bZ4X a sales disaster in Australia? Is Toyota failing at electric vehicles (EVs) generally? And why does senior management reckon there is a stink in the air for all the naysayers?

It’s been a long time since someone who’s not that interested in cars gushed to me about how much they like Tesla (it doesn’t help that the man in charge of Tesla has done less and less for his own reputation as time rolls on), so if Tesla isn’t the brand at the cultural forefront of electric cars then, who should be?

Sales of Chinese electric cars are booming despite heavy tariffs effectively locking them out of the US, Canada and the European Union.

The new Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' is shaping as the electric car brand's most important car ever, with the brand's best-selling model also its key weapon in the face of increased competition from legacy car makers and slew of Chinese brands like BYD, MG and Geely.

Tesla is the darling child of the electric car movement. Its sleek and shiny Model 3 and Model Y are rushed into the arms of awaiting customers as quickly as they can be built. Or at least that was the case 12 months ago.

Australia’s favourite car brand has taken a shot at electric car-only brands such as Tesla and Polestar.Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations intimated car makers that only sell EVs are in for a tough time.“I’m not sure I’d want to be a single EV-only manufacturer right now,” said Hanley.“People are now moving back to hybrid and particularly plug-in hybrid. Interesting.”Sales of hybrid cars such as the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Kona are up more than 113 per cent through the first six months of this year.Toyota announced last week it had delivered more than 100,000 hybrids in Australia the past financial year. The RAV4 led the charge with 38,632 sales for in the past 12 months, followed by the Corolla (20,375), Camry (16,872), Corolla Cross (7,876), Kluger (7,311) and Yaris Cross (6,077).Plug-in hybrids are in a similar purple patch with sales up by about 130 per cent this year.Electric cars sales have plateaued after a very strong 2023 with sales up 16.5 per cent this year. EV sales were up more than 160 per cent last year.Toyota has always maintained battery electric cars are just part of the future mix of vehicles and they are a long way from becoming the default choice of buyers.“Toyota's always been about the long term: we don't plan for five years, we plan for 20 to 30 years. And that's what you're seeing right now in play is that multi pathways strategy that we've been talking about for a long time,” said Hanley.Toyota just launched its first electric car - the bZ4X - in Australia earlier this year with mixed results. It has only sold 555 examples since February compared to Tesla shifting 23,116 examples of its Model Y and Model 3 in the same time.Hanley said the company wouldn't follow Tesla and slash the price of its EV.Despite their increasing popularity Toyota Australia still does not sell any plug-in hybrids locally despite offering plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius, C-HR and RAV4 overseas.Hanley promised a wide variety of vehicles were on the agenda for Toyota in Australia.“100 per cent you can expect hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and I dare say some time in the future even synthetic fuel vehicles, hydrogen conversion vehicles of conventional ICE engines are also something we are considering,” he said.Toyota has long been a champion of hydrogen power and it currently has a fleet of Mirai Fuel Cell vehicles trialling in Australia.Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles convert hydrogen to electricity that is stored in a battery, which then powers an electric motor. The only tailpipe emissions is water.Hanley previously told CarsGuide hydrogen fuel cell vehicles won’t be popular for the next three to five years but will become more important in the future. Refuelling infrastructure is one of the biggest problems with only a handful of outlets nationwide.He did say Toyota Australia will sell a hydrogen fuel cell car in the next two years, but only in areas where there is the infrastructure to support it which, reading between the lines, means Canberra.

The first spy pictures of the 2025 Tesla Model Y update have appeared, known internally as ‘Juniper’.