Ute News

It’s been a minute since the only cars we would regularly see wearing a strip of blue and white Sillitoe tartan down the side were the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and sometimes Toyota Camry.The world of police cars and vehicles has broadened — Ford Rangers, Hyundai Santa Fes, Volkswagen Passats, the list goes on. All must be practical, of course, and for different purposes.But there are new things to consider now, like hybrids and EVs, new ute options and of course which cars will be the PR show cars, the ones that don’t really have to work too hard. Here are five suggestions from across the spectrum.BYD Shark 6Something about a ute in white with police decals and a bullbar on the front just works. Our digital artist Thanos Pappas has rendered the Shark 6 as a police car both in the red dirt of rural Australia, and in the Sydney CBD.Australia and its vastly different environments could be the perfect place to see if the innovative BYD Shark 6 has what it takes to ‘keep the streets safe’ as it were.While its electric ability would make it ideal for city and suburban patrols, its petrol power means range anxiety on longer routes isn’t a concern.The big question surrounds its ability to off-road - CarsGuide’s off-road guru Marcus Craft deemed it suitable for “light to moderate off-roading” only, though we’re not sure how many police chases end up requiring rock-crawls and hill-climbs.Still, it looks good in the livery, and isn’t that the most important thing about policing? Right? Isn’t it?Kia TasmanPerhaps a little closer to reality is the idea of a Kia Tasman police car. Not only is there already a strong relationship between Kia (and Hyundai) and many police services around the country but there’s even a mock-up Tasman cop car already.During 2025 there was even a period that around Australia “multiple jurisdictions considering and are interested” in using the Tasman for policing.Whether that comes to fruition is yet to be seen - a lot of testing has to be done before a car is deemed suitable for police work, perhaps one reason a couple of other cars on this list may fall short in certain areas.Ford MustangThe Mustang is one such car that might have a couple of downsides - the inability to to detain someone safely being one - but police have often had high-powered highway patrol cars or community engagement vehicles that aren’t really built for your everyday patrols.It wouldn’t be the first time this has come up - about ten years ago the NSW Police Force was considering a Mustang GT for highway patrol, but the previous generation car was struggling with some overheating issues under hard testing.The Ford Mustang seems like a good choice given it’s an easy design to admire, it’s actually a very capable sports car, and it’s got a link to the former FPV patrol cars in the form of its Coyote 5.0-litre engine, on which FPV’s Miami V8 was based.Toyota RAV4This might seem like a boring, obvious answer, but the incoming Toyota RAV4 would make a really sensible car for Australian police.The hybrid of it all, not to mention Toyota’s long history of supplying police cars and its reputation for reliability.That and if the current RAV4 is anything to go by, the new one should be a fairly capable and easy-to-use thing.Genesis G70Victoria Police announced in 2017 it would add dozens of BMW 5 Series highway patrol cars to its fleet, so why not a similar rear-drive sports sedan from the sibling brand to Hyundai, models from which police have been using for some time now.A 3.3-litre twin-turbo engine with 274kW and 510Nm, plus some decent handling and dynamics alongside a design I reckon would suit the blue and white (and yellow in highway patrol form).

Toyota is reportedly readying a full-blown, off-road-ready rival to the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX.The Japanese carmaker has submitted a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the name TRD Hammer.It’s understood the name could be applied to a new flagship, off-road-ready version of the full-size Tundra pick-up to sit above the existing TRD Pro.This follows a survey that was sent out to Tundra owners in the US, as shared on the Tundras.com owner forum, asking them to rank a series of names for a future vehicle.The list of names included TRD Baja, TRD Iron, TRD Pro-S, TRD Hammer, TRD Bizurk and TRD Quake.In order to rank the names, survey recipients were given the following description – ”This high-performance truck package is designed for off-road enthusiasts, featuring long-travel suspension and 37” all-terrain tyres. With the truck’s unique wide fenders, high-clearance bumpers, and a powerful engine, it achieves exceptional off-road capability and performance.”We mightn’t have to wait long for this new, off-road-ready version of the Tundra to be revealed as at least one camouflaged prototype has already been spied in the US, featuring what appears to be all the above points.At this stage now other official details have been confirmed about this forthcoming off-road-ready Tundra.It’s unclear whether it will feature a different engine or if it will still receive the 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 i-Force Max hybrid engine that’s available elsewhere in the line-up. It could be tuned to produce more power and torque, though the current version already produces 326kW and 790Nm.If it does feature the same engine, this could make the Tundra TRD Hammer more of a rival to the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2.This isn’t the first time Toyota has hinted at creating a Ford F-150 Raptor or Ram 1500 TRX rival.In 2021 the Japanese carmaker showed off the TRD Desert Chase Tundra concept that was created for the SEMA show.It featured 18-inch forged aluminium wheels wrapped in 37-inch all-terrain tyres, TRD-designed long-travel suspension, a wide-body kit, as well as a number of other accessories and features to make it appear ready to be a desert racing support vehicle.If the Tundra TRD Hammer does end up being revealed, it’s unclear if it will ever come to Australia.The Toyota Tundra launched locally in 2024 and is converted from left- to right-hand drive locally by Walkinshaw Automotive Group in Melbourne, Victoria.Currently only the Limited and Platinum trims are offered. Pricing currently starts at $155,990 before on-road costs for the former and $172,990 before on-road costs for the latter.

Mitsubishi Australia has announced the Triton Raider ute, which will launch in Australia this year as a new high-end off-road hero.There are no specification details about the vehicle at this stage, but we will learn more about it at the end of this month when it makes its full debut.On the face of things, it us shaping up as a direct rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor, which sits at the top of the Ford ute's range with 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine producing 292kW and 583Nm.Whether the Triton Raider will have some sort of powertrain upgrade remains to be seen, with the brand thus far only saying the new variant has been "inspired by rally raid competitions" and will "have a focus on Australian engineering."The current 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel found across the current Triton range produces 150kW and 470Nm.The Raider is likely to top out the Triton range, with the current most expensive version of the ute starting from $64,590, before on-road costs. The Ranger Raptor, for comparison, starts from more than $90,000.Mitsubishi also said the Triton Raider recently went through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, demonstrating its rigorous pre-launch testing program.From the image provided, the ute keeps most of the Triton signature design points, but has several blacked out elements, such as the roof rails and door mirrors.It has exaggerated fenders to highlight its more rugged capabilities, suggesting upgrades to track or tyre width and suspension.The Triton is one of Mitsubishi’s best-selling models, only trailing the Outlander SUV for sales as of February 2026.It comes at a time when Mitsubishi is preparing to reintroduce its Pajero four-wheel drive this year, which is expected to be based on the current Triton ute like its Pajero Sport predecessor.This will give the Japanese brand two new models as it looks to snatch back sales from rivals such as Ford and Toyota, which still dominate the sales charts.

Kia HQ in Korea is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure the major update coming to the Tasman is the success in Australia they expected the current model to be, deploying experts from the USA and Korea to our market as well as surveying current Tasman owners on what they like, and what they'd like to see improved.These are steps understood to have never before been taken by Kia in our market – such is the importance of the Tasman – and are being spearheaded by Kia in Korea where work is building on a new-look update.The survey has been sent directly from Korea to Tasman owners across Australia, and is being shared widely across ownership Facebook groups here. The research is being conducted by TrendLab506 in Seoul, which describes itself as a "trend consulting agency based in Seoul, Korea, currently conducting the interviews with Tasman owners in Australia".Following the survey, select owners are then invited to a two-hour focus group online, as well as asked to complete an ownership diary.Incredibly, those who opt to complete the diary will be observed in real time by Kia researchers in Australia as they go about their daily driving lives. "Our research team will accompany participants during activities in which they use their Tasman to observe real-life usage and ask relevant questions," the study application reads. For completing the survey, owners are paid $30. For the focus group, the compensation is $300, while completing the owner's diary is rewarded with $600.Alongside the research study work have been trips by Kia's own R&D staff to Australia, both from Namyang in Korea and from the Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. (HATCI) in Michigan to review the Tasman here, along with the rest of Australia's dual-cab market.All of which points to a facelifted Tasman arriving sooner rather than later, with the current ute so far underperforming in Australia – by far the Tasman's most important market."We've been quite vocal, and we always have been with this car in particular," a Kia spokesperson recently told CarsGuide."We're very vocal with our superiors, and up front. We're definitely being very deliberate in what we think might be hampering its sales performance."If we want to be a third of the total production volume, they've got to be receptive.As to when we could expect a new-look Tasman, the brand cited the costs associated with a "major redesign".All of this is accompanied by what appeared to be a rear-drive version of the company's 2.5-litre turbo-hybrid powertrain spied testing in Europe – seemingly a perfect powertrain choice for a new Tasman.The powertrain in question, the 'TMED-II', is a powerful 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol-hybrid, producing a diesel-dominating 245kW and 460Nm of torque which is sent to all four wheels via a new six-speed automatic transmission.The powertrain has been flagged by Kia in Australia as the one "that would make sense" for the Tasman, with the brand's product chief, Roland Rivero, having told CarsGuide that hybrid would be the priority powertrain in the era of Australia's recently-implemented New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES), which place increasingly tough penalties on high-emitting cars and utes.“With NVES currently in play, the priority would probably be more of an electrified hybrid, for example, to try and see us through to the longer term,” Mr Rivero previously told CarsGuide.With research work now well underway, a new Tasman looks increasingly likely to touchdown next year.

Fuel prices in Australia are soaring, meaning fuel efficiency in vehicles is a more important consideration than ever. Hybrid cars offer the potential for superior fuel efficiency compared to internal combustion power without the big price premium if fully electric or plug-in hybrid options. This makes them an increasingly attractive option for buyers given the current global climate. Hybrid sales are already booming in Australia, but will increases in fuel prices accelerate the shift away from pure internal combustion cars? NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said that while hybrid sales are increasing, an even swifter transition is less than clear. “If you’re driving a standard vehicle with a 55-litre tank, compared to what we were paying before the war began to now, it’s a $45 increase on one tank of petrol. That applies regardless of whether it’s hybrid or petrol,” Khoury said. “Historically speaking, looking at what happens after an oil shock, it certainly opens up their consideration. “No doubt that if this crisis continues and these prices hang around for weeks or months, Australians will look at those alternatives more seriously.” Below is a comparison between popular petrol and hybrid choices in each segment to see how they stack up in a changing fuel context. Fuel cost has been calculated using current data from the New South Wales’ government’s average fuel price for unleaded 95 petrol and diesel. Toyota’s Corolla hybrid hatch offers superior fuel efficiency and driving range compared to the Kia K4 petrol model. The Corolla is also cheaper to fill up with fuel thanks to its smaller tank and offers a substantially bigger driving range. The Kia Seltos is a petrol-only variant, but despite its bigger fuel tank, it has less driving range than the Toyota Corolla Cross, courtesy of the hybrid powertrain. The bigger fuel tank means the Seltos is also more expensive to fill up. The mid-size CX-5 has a non-turbo charged petrol engine, which sees it offer an impressive estimated driving range of more than 800km, but once again the Toyota competitor’s fuel efficiency wins out in the RAV4 hybrid. The Toyota Kluger continues the Japanese juggernaut’s fuel efficient theme, with a hybrid set-up offering a driving range of more than 1122km, which is significantly more than the MQ QS, despite both cars costing a similar amount to fill up at the bowser. Utes are some of the worst affected by the fuel price increase as many of them are powered using diesel engines, with diesel fuel rising more than petrol. It has now risen to well beyond the $2.60 mark per litre. The BYD Shark’s plug-in hybrid set-up uses petrol, which makes it an affordable option, given the price of diesel. It should be noted that the Shark 6’s fuel efficiency is significantly reduced when the battery is not charged. It’s a similar story for the GWM Cannon Alpha, which should be noted is no longer on sale, but remains one of limited plug-less hybrid utes in Australia. 

Although the Ford Ranger is currently the best-selling vehicle in Australia for two years running, there's no denying BYD has had a lot of success with the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute.It’s even more of a big deal when Ford CEO Jim Farley comes to Australia to test it out, along with other key rivals to see how they stack up against the Ranger.“They’re totally different animals,” said Farley to Australian media, including CarsGuide, when asked how the Ranger compares to the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV.“The [BYD] Shark is a ute, but if you put 500kg in the back, it’s not a Ranger, it’s not a HiLux.“But for someone who doesn’t do that every day and they want electrification, you know, it’s a pretty competitive product.“I have no idea how they make money.“The Great Wall is a very competitive product and I’ve talked to a lot of customers of both and those customers are very educated.“Yet again, [BYD and GWM] haven’t been doing it like our Ranger or the HiLux for decades, so they don’t have all the chassis and all the towing payload and all the experience.“So they’re coming at it with a huge deficit, but it’s a good, solid, competitive product.“I mean I much prefer the Ranger for real work. It’s no competition, but not everyone in buys a Ranger to do the kind of work that we design it for.“There’s a lot of different kinds of customers here.”The BYD Shark 6 ute is by far the best-selling PHEV ute currently in Australia. In 2025 a total of 18,073 examples were sold, making it BYD’s best-selling vehicle for the year, while also outselling a number of diesel-powered rivals like the Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok.While it has a body-on-frame chassis, the Shark 6 has an electric-heavy PHEV powertrain layout with no driveshaft down the middle of the vehicle and no locking differentials. It also has a slightly reduced braked trailer towing capacity of 2500kg.GWM has had success to a lesser extent with the Cannon Alpha PHEV in Australia, but due to how its PHEV drivetrain is configured, it allows for a mechanical four-wheel drive system plus a higher 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.It’s worth noting the Ford Ranger PHEV also has a similar PHEV layout as the Cannon Alpha PHEV and similarly allows for a segment-meeting 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity and a mechanical four-wheel drive system.Ford doesn’t publicly disclose sales figures that split out Ranger PHEV sales from the wider Ranger family, which now also includes the beefy Ranger Super Duty. It’s therefore unclear how popular the Ranger PHEV has been in Australia to date.On paper, where the Ranger PHEV is let down over the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha PHEV is pure-electric range. It only offers up to 49km of electric range, whereas the Shark 6 offers 100km and the Cannon Alpha PHEV offers 115km, all according to NEDC testing.Another notable disadvantage for the Ranger PHEV over the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV is pricing.The Ranger PHEV currently starts at $71,990, before on-road costs, for the XLT and extends to $79,990, BOC, for the Wildtrak.The Shark 6 on the other hand is currently offered in one trim level, priced at $57,900, drive-away.The Cannon Alpha PHEV starts at $51,490, drive-away, and extends to $58,490, drive-away, thanks to a pricing offer that’s set to end at the end of March.

Chery's ute to get truly local name.

China is dominating Australian new-car sales, but it’s also not alone, with a handful of legacy brands bucking the trend to somehow grow their sales in the face of BYD, Chery and GWM’s continued ascent.

If we know anything about BYD’s rollout in Australia, it’s that nothing stays the same for long. And so it’s unsurprising that the rumours that a new and tougher BYD Shark 6 will launch this year are gathering real steam.Those rumours solidified when BYD lodged Australian government documentation detailing the introduction of a new powertrain for the Shark 6, despite the current version being less than 18 months old in Australia.So CarsGuide has put on its detective cap to bring you everything we know so far about the Chinese ute that promises to now be just as tough as a Ranger, and to offer more tech than a HiLux.Why is this happening?We’re only guessing, but one of the criticisms the BYD Shark 6 faced when it first launched in Australia was its failure to hit some of the non-negotiables for dual-cab utes in Australia — towing and true off-road ability. While the fact the Shark 6 lags its traditional rivals hasn’t impacted sales one iota, it’s entirely possible those criticisms reached important ears.Add to that the fact that Denza has now arrived in Australia, and its B8 model addresses each of those concerns, with its 3.5-tonne towing and proper off-road equipment.In short, the blueprint for a new BYD Shark 6 had arrived.What will be the 2027 BYD Shark 6 platform and powertrain?We have more than a hint on this. In fact, we suspect the answer is already here in the shape of the B8.Government documents suggest the new Shark 6 model will adopt the B8’s 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine – something the company's executives have been hinting at since 2025 – along with twin electric motors to improve the grunt and massively improve the capability.The Shark 6's homologation documents reveal that the new 2.0-litre engine will produce 180kW before the electric motors are taken into account, compared to the current model's 135kW 1.5-litre turbo.Also worth pointing out that total system power on the Denza B8 is 425kW and 760Nm, but the Shark 6 won't reach that level. Its lodged documents confirm the petrol engine will be joined by a 200kW front electric motor and 150kW rear electric motor for a combined total output of 345kW.Will it be able to tow?Yep, that’s really the core focus of this upgrade. The bigger engine unlocks a true 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity, and 750kg unbraked. That puts it on-par with the diesel dual-cab heavyweights of Australia.Will it improve its off-road ability?That’s a big maybe. If BYD is raiding the Denza product portfolio — and it is — then the B8 has a whole bunch of other kit, like front and rear diff locks, a digitised low range and infinite Terrain Modes.Both the B5 and the B8 have climbed the infamous Beer O'Clock Hill (a challenge the current Shark 6 couldn't rise to), so borrowing from the Denza grab bag of off-road goodies will be a huge step in the right direction.When will it arrive?BYD is yet to comment publicly on the arrival of a 2.0-litre BYD Shark 6, but the government filings suggest the launch is now approaching. We'd estimate an arrival in the second half of 2026, or in early 2027.

Ford CEO Jim Farley has warned the legacy carmaker may axe its Australian engineering arm if the local government doesn’t come to the table and help equalise costs.While the Blue Oval hasn’t produced any cars in Australia since 2016, it has since still led the engineering development of vehicles like the Ranger ute and related Everest SUV.Ford currently has around 1500 engineers employed in Australia.“Australia has become ground zero for the global industry because your government dropped all the tariffs,” said Farley to Australian media, including CarsGuide.“It’s a completely open market and also pushing CO2 , arguably way beyond the customer requirements.“So it’s this cauldron of innovation and brutal competition, and to have engineers here – we’re the only ones left.“It's amazing to me that no one notices that Toyota has like 10 engineers in the country, and Ford has got thousands.“Do we get credit at the brand level? Probably not, but thank god they’re here because we wouldn’t have a Super Duty without them, and the global Ranger wouldn’t be number two to HiLux globally.“ needs to decide if they want to help us equalise the cost differential … because this is among the most expensive places to have engineers on the planet.”Another element is the Australian government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) could further strangle the future of Ford’s local engineering efforts.“What we’ve seen around the world with this kind of pressure on pure EVs is that ultimately all OEMs develop compliance vehicles," Farley said.“They’re not designed for customers. They’re designed for the OEM to be compliant and they’re subsidised by the OEMs and the customers have great choice.“That’s not a natural market and over time that winds up not being sustainable.“Something your government, or any government, has to be very sensitive to around the CO2 glide path. We want to reduce our CO2 footprint, but there’s a level that the customer can’t afford, and not all duty cycles can be electrified.”Farley noted one particular use case that electrified vehicles currently aren’t suited for is for heavy towing and that this happens frequently in Australia.“From my standpoint, those are the two policy issues that this country has to face. You want to prioritise mining and extraction of raw materials? Fine, but then you’re going to have to make some tough choices," Farley said.“Is the CO2 road map sustainable for customers? I think Australia may be on the wrong side of that now.“As well, you have to decide as a country, do you want to have a traditional engineering capability in your country?”“I think the government has to decide on that and it can’t sit on the sidelines and pretend that’s not a choice.“It’s a choice because that engineering can be done in a lot of other places … cheaper and faster.“The good thing is Ford is committed, but we’re not going to make bad choices.”As it currently stands, Ford does have a wealth of credits as reflected in the 2025 performance period for NVES.To be exact, it has 451,899 credits which it can either trade with other carmakers for profit or hoard to offset the results in coming years as the targets get stricter.A major reason for why Ford currently has NVES credits is because it, among a wealth of other brands, advocated for the implementation of two different target types – Type 1 and Type 2.Type 1 vehicles are regular passenger cars like sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs, whereas Type 2 vehicles include utes, vans, as well as body-on-frame four-wheel drive SUVs with a towing capacity of more than 3000kg.The latter has CO2 targets that aren’t as low but they still scale down as the years progress.Many of Ford’s best-selling vehicles, including the Ranger, Everest and Transit all fall into the Type 2 category.For context, in 2025 the CO2 emissions target for Type 1 vehicles was 141g/km and for Type 2 vehicles was 210g/km.It has since been reduced to 117g/km for Type 1 vehicles and 180g/km for Type 2 vehicles in 2026.It takes until 2028 for the CO2 emissions target for Type 2 vehicles to undercut the original 2025 CO2 emissions target for Type 1 vehicles.It's understood Ford is already making efforts to reduced its fleet CO2 footprint in Australia.The company has discontinued the 2.0-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo engine in the Ranger and Everest, instead relying more heavily on the single-turbo version in addition to the wealth of other powertrains offered, including V6s and a plug-in hybrid.The Blue Oval has also introduced more electrified Transit Custom offerings in Australia.Beyond the E-Transit Custom and E-Transit commercial vans though, the only other pure electric vehicle (EV) Ford Australia currently offers is the Mustang Mach-E mid-size SUV.