Ute News

There are more and more Chinese car brands entering the Australian new car market seemingly every day.

Toyota Australia has recalled 831 examples of its Tundra pick up built between 2022 and 2024 over concerns the reverse lights may not function correctly.A recall notice published by Australia’s vehicle recall regulator reads: “Due to a manufacturing defect, moisture may enter the internal circuit board of the reverse lamps over time. As a result, the reverse lamps may not illuminate as intended. Also, the rear-view camera may become activated whilst driving.”In extreme cases, the notice said: “If the traffic behind is unable to identify if the vehicle is reversing, it could increase the risk of an accident causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”Once parts become available, owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Toyota to book an appointment to have this issue rectified, free of charge.The issue is impacting all Tundras sold globally, with more than 440,000 cars in the US – where the Tundra is built – also recalled.Australians have bought 769 examples of the Toyota Tundra since it was first officially launched in Australia in November 2024, with all models presumed to be affected. The remaining impacted vehicles are likely to be individual imports purchased prior to its official release.

Here’s a little peek behind the curtain for you. During a media launch event for a new car, journalists will often be presented with information about the new model and given the opportunity to ask questions of engineers and executives.

Chinese brand Chery is working on a unique solution for its first Australia-bound ute, and – if successful – it could form a blueprint for the future of models like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.

Toyota could be developing a little SUV-based ute in a throwback to the glory days of the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore utes, according to reports.

Kia has defended its passenger-car-sourced 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine as the correct powertrain for its incoming Tasman ute

Nissan will shut down two car assembly plants in Japan as well as factories in Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and India as part of its cost-cutting measures outlined last week, according to sources close to the matter.

Stellantis has already pushed back the launch of Ram’s first all-electric pick-up, the 1500 REV, and it has reportedly delayed it further as part of a product strategy shuffle.

The driver-assist tech in a lot of new vehicles has the potential to be intrusive and annoying – from traffic sign recognition that’s woefully incorrect, to adaptive/active cruise control that is preemptive and too abrupt, through to stop-start functions that should be taken out the back and disposed of.

Nissan is urgently cooking up its vital new Navara dual-cab ute.The rugged new workhorse hasn’t been revealed yet but we’ve followed the breadcrumbs laid out by the Japanese brand and it’s starting to take shape via our digital render.Nissan threw out a red herring a few weeks back at the Shanghai motor show with its Frontier Pro mid-size ute reveal, but that vehicle won’t be the new Navara, according to previous information delivered by the brand.We know the new Navara will be based on the current Mitsubishi Triton and will come with diesel and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power.Nissan global executive, Guillaume Cartier, told CarsGuide last year that it would lean into its strategic alliance to lower development costs and shortcut production timings.He confirmed it would have diesel grunt but would add petrol plug-in hybrid power during its lifecycle and then go fully electric once the brand's solid state battery ambitions were realised.This tie-up with alliance partner Mitsubishi could result in a 2.5-litre petrol engine paired with a pair of electric motors and a circa-23kWh battery to deliver more grunt than any Navara ahead of it, while slashing fuel use to about 2.0L/100km and pushing EV-only driving range close to 100km. It will need to if it is a hope of unseating the BYD Shark 6 and incoming Ford Ranger PHEV.Diesel power is likely to come from Mitsubishi’s bi-turbo 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine that delivers 150kW and 470Nm. It can carry a one-tonne payload and tow up to 3500kg.The Frontier Pro revealed in China the past month is a result of the company’s Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng, dubbed Zhengzhou Nissan.It uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and transmission-mounted electric motor as the Frontier Pro. This set-up produces a whopping 300kW and 800Nm sent to all four wheels, which are eye-popping numbers by diesel ute standards.Built in China, this ute is expected to be for export markets, but is unlikely to replace the Navara. It might form a one-two punch in the brand’s ute line-up in the future, though.Digital artist Thanos Pappas has applied his craft to give us a vision of what that ute could look like. A shadow teaser image gave us the silhouette and he’s filled in the blanks.It’s a big blocky ute with flared wheel arches holding rugged all terrain tyres.A three-tier lighting signature adds some futuristic pop to the ute, as does a glowing Nissan logo. Rugged underbody cladding and side steps show its capabilities. Nissan has previously announced the new “one-ton pick-up” is due in FY26, which for Japanese companies runs from April 2026 to March 27.