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Tough new version of standout electric car confirmed: 2025 Volvo EX30 Cross Country to debut in UK this year as off-road rival to the Zeekr X and Kia EV3
By Dom Tripolone · 21 Jan 2025
A rough and tumble version of Volvo’s pocket-sized EX30 electric SUV has been confirmed.
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Why so many car brands lost sales in Australia during 2024 including Tesla, MG, Ram and Jeep
By Chris Thompson · 17 Jan 2025
Australia’s new car market rose very slightly in volume in 2024 compared to 2023 - but it wasn’t good news across the board.
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James Cleary's Top 5 cars of 2024: From Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray to Volvo EX30
By James Cleary · 30 Dec 2024
It’s a year that will likely go down as an historical turning point for the Aussie new car market. With local manufacturing now a tiny spec in the rear view mirror, the long-predicted new wave of Chinese challenger brands built into an automotive tsunami in 2024.
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Truly all-new cars released in 2024: What separates the BYD Shark 6 and Kia EV5 from the Toyota Prado and Suzuki Swift?
By Byron Mathioudakis · 27 Dec 2024
Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new. In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.
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How many car brands are too many? Can Chinese newcomer Geely sustain all its brands in Australia including Lotus, Polestar, Smart, Volvo and Zeekr | Opinion
By Dom Tripolone · 24 Dec 2024
Ask Toyota — the world’s biggest carmaker — and two brands are enough.Yes, Toyota makes trucks under the Hino brand and also has the minnow Daihatsu in its stable, but it is essentially Toyota and Lexus and that’s it.Part of Toyota’s success in Australia is it sells a vehicle for everyone, and every occasion.Lexus rarely steps on its big brother’s toes, with a clear premium divide separating the two.Now Chinese behemoth, Geely, is gearing up for an assault on the Australian market.It has a strong toehold Down Under with Volvo and Polestar, but after that is where things get murky.It also has Lotus, Smart, Zeekr and its home brand Geely to forge ahead with in 2025.Volvo and Polestar have clearly positioned themselves in the luxury space, but Geely, Smart and Zeekr are chasing the same mainstream buyers.All three are electric only, and are launching with semi-premium compact and mid-size SUVs.They are essentially the same vehicle underneath a slightly different styled skin. But electric cars all have similar looks, honed for aerodynamics, which gives them all a same-same-ness despite a tweaked non-grille or headlight treatment.The brands all share motors, batteries and tech features, which helps amortise costs, but can be a challenge when attempting to stand out from the crowd.Geely recently merged two of its brands, Zeekr and Lynk and Co, to reduce internal competition.According to Reuters, Geely boss Gui Shengyue said the integration would make the company more competitive."If we don't integrate , we must face issues such as internal competition ... and redundant investments in many aspects such as R&D, sales, which is stupid," he said according to Reuters.Geely isn’t alone in crowding its own space.The huge Volkswagen Group has Volkswagen, Skoda and newcomer Cupra all lobbing cars in a similar price bracket.The big difference is only Cupra is new, the VW Group isn’t attempting to launch three new brands in the space of 12 months that sell effectively the same cars.It’ll be a challenge for these three Chinese brands to stand out.They also face a wave of competition following them across the sea. GAC, Aion, Xpeng, Skywell, Leapmotor and Deepal are all planning to launch or have launched into the same market space as their compatriots.Not to mention established brands such as BYD, Chery, GWM and MG already with a group of loyal buyers and brand cache.It is starting to feel like China’s car industry is replacing the building industry responsible for towering ghost towns as its biggest economic driver and they need to find export markets quickly to keep the production lines open and the steel mills firing.Australia is a prime target with its lack of tariffs and relatively close proximity to the Chinese mainland.There are storm clouds brewing on the edge of the Australia new car market, though.Electric cars still only make up about 8.3 per cent of new cars bought through the first 11 months of 2024. More EVs have found homes this year than last, but less than 10 per cent is still relatively niche.Private buyers — generally the ones snapping up EVs — are stepping away from new car purchases at an alarming rate.Double digit drops in private buyers in each of the past four months compared to the year before is a worrying trend according to the head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber.“This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households,” he said.Only time will tell if these brands can make it work, but it’ll be a tough slog in 2025.
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How did your car score? 2025 MG ZS hybrid small SUV falls short in safety testing, but how did the Hyundai Santa Fe, Volvo EX30, Xpeng G6 and Jeep Avenger fare?
By Tom White · 05 Dec 2024
ANCAP has released a raft of new scores for eight new models which have landed in Australia this year, with some notable new entrants falling short of the maximum five-star rating.
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More driving range and simpler name for electric family SUV: 2025 Volvo EX40 name locked in for BMW iX1, Mercedes-Benz EQA and Renault Megane E-Tech rivalling XC40 Recharge Pure Electric
By John Law · 08 Nov 2024
Volvo has changed the name of its first electric car from the mouthful that was XC40 Recharge Pure Electric to simply EX40 in Australia.
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New luxurious Tesla Model Y rival coming: 2026 Volvo EX60 midsized electric SUV one of several hot Volvo electric cars set to outsmart Tesla, BMW iX3, Audi Q4 e-tron and Genesis GV60
By Byron Mathioudakis · 09 Sep 2024
Volvo is confident that it will rule the premium EV world with a two-tiered approach moving forward. While all will encompass the Swedish brand’s core pillars of safety, efficiency, technology and luxury, where they are positioned in terms of price and size will determine which platform each model will employ.
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Why this car gives its creators terrible sleepless nights: 2025 Volvo EX90 breaks the mould like an Apple iPhone EV to tackle the Kia EV9 and coming Hyundai Ioniq 9
By Byron Mathioudakis · 08 Sep 2024
Why the Volvo EX90 is late and why it's probably likely to be very worthwhile as a result.
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