Electric Cars

The 2026 GWM Ora 5 Ultra, starting from $36,990 drive-away, is a small electric SUV from China as part of the relaunch of the Ora brand in Australia after the mildly received Ora hatchback a few years ago.It boasts Australian ride and handling tuning, plus a decent list of standard features including 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass, a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display, synthetic leather upholstery and electric driver’s seat adjustment.The extra $3000 the Ultra costs over the base Lux grade adds an electrically adjustable front passenger seat, seat ventilation and heating for both up front, wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof and three extra speakers for nine in total.It has a single 150kW/260Nm electric motor at the front axle drawing from a 58.3kWh battery. Its claimed consumption figure of 15.5kWh/100km results in a 435km range under WLTC testing according to GWM. DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, for a 30-minute charge from 10 to 80 per cent.The Ora 5 remains unrated by ANCAP for now, but it has seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert.GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty also includes eight years (unlimited km) for the battery, plus there’s seven years of roadside assistance and seven years capped-price servicing at $195 per service (every 12 months or 15,000km).

The Zeekr 8X is about to face a new competitor, and it could be headed to Australia.The GWM Wey V8X is a five-seater large fully-electric SUV.Key details about this new EV have just been revealed in Chinese approval documents.It measures 5000mm long, 2025mm wide, 1808mm high and has a 2968mm wheelbase.This means it is similarly sized to the fully-electric Zeekr 8X, due in Australia next year, as well as the diesel-powered Ford Everest. We don’t know if the Wey V8X will be made available in Australia in the future, but if it does, it will likely sit at the pointy end of the lineup. It would give the brand another fully-electric option, with the recently-introduced Ora 5 compact SUV its only model in that space. The Wey sub-brand has been officially confirmed for Australia, with the V8X’s larger sibling the V9X and 80 people mover expected to launch here first.It is unclear whether the smaller V8X will join those models later on.  GWM Australia has been contacted for comment to see if the car will launch Down Under. The car appears to be initially targeted for the Chinese market at this stage. It is powered by a dual electric motor all-wheel drive set-up. The front motor produces 220kW, while the rear motor adds 320kW, combining for 540kW in total.The car’s battery size and driving range have not been confirmed yet. It has a rounded overall exterior shape, including a curved headlight design and can be optioned with 20- or 21-inch wheels. There is a single rear light bar at the back, as well as conventional physical door handles. GWM has experienced a more than 20 per cent year-on-year sales increase so far, led by its Haval Jolion budget small SUV. The brand will introduce several new models across its lineup before the end of the year, like a diesel-powered Tank 500 4WD and an updated version of the Haval Jolion Max.

Toyota has adopted a slow and steady approach to electric vehicles, with the new bZ4X Touring only its second battery-powered model. The new, more spacious SUV goes head-to-head with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Subaru Trailseeker. We put the bZ4X Touring to the test to see how it rates for value, practicality, performance, safety and more.

BYD is offering to refund millions of dollars worth of cars in Australia after an “administrative error”, according to reports.Hot on the heels of its best ever sales month in Australia, the Chinese behemoth has committed to refunding 1265 customers who were mistakenly given 2025 built vehicles instead of 2026 builds, according to the ABC.Build year can have a material effect on the vehicle’s value, with older stock usually discounted in dealerships and the car being worth less when it comes to resale time as it appears to be one year older.CEO of the Consumer Policy Research Centre Wrin Turner told the ABC the depreciation ramifications could leave owners "seriously out of pocket".Once BYD had been alerted to the error it contacted customers and offered a $1100 refund for the clerical error, but many weren’t happy with that compensation, according to the ABC report.Now the company is reportedly offering customers a full refund."It was an administrative error that occurred. There was no deceit," a BYD spokesperson told the ABC."It's important that we keep ourselves in good faith with Australian customers. We need to do the right thing."The BYD spokesperson told CarsGuide the company had used the dates the cars left the factory instead of the date they were manufactured.He stated there were no real differences to the cars delivered to the ones built in 2026.The spokesperson said most customers had chosen to accept the $1100. BYD will contact all affected owners again with the updated offer, which they are free to take up if they have already agreed to the previous offer.BYD sells vehicles for as little as $23,990 and as much as $70,000, all before on-road costs.Customers the ABC talked to bought Atto 3 electric SUVs for about $47,000. It is understood that most vehicles were the Atto 2 and 3 SUVs.This means the company could have to hand back about $50m.The returned vehicles will then be resold as used vehicles.BYD made a concerted effort to boost sales in the past three months, with the promise of 30,000 cars to arrive by the end of June earlier this year by General Manager BYD Asia Pacific Mr Liu Xueliang.The company delivered on that promise, culminating in the ballyhooed arrival of BYD’s own car carrier packed to the rafters with BYD vehicles.Liu said in April it was important the company meets the growing demand and is able to get customers as soon as they place an order.It appears in its rush to meet a massive increase in demand the company may have shipped some older stock to Australia.

Thanks to regulatory filings in China, we have what might be our first look at an updated version of BYD’s Sealion 8 three-row hybrid SUV.Known as the Tang and Tang L in China, the new version of the car filed with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology adopts similar styling to BYD’s flagship Great Tang SUV, which debuted earlier this year.This means a refreshed light profile in the front with a single light bar panel, a smoother profile across the body, tweaked rear light bar designs, more subtle logo work and an overall more premium feel. It also scores either 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels in fresh designs, and replaces the electronic pop-out doorhandles, now banned in China, with flush-set handles.For now, the new version of the car has only been filed in fully electric form equipped with a 300kW single electric motor, while the Sealion 8 version we get in Australia is only a plug-in hybrid.At over five meters long, the Tang has grown slightly over the outgoing model. Its interior is yet to be revealed, but is likely to include at least some of the cabin styling and features from the Great Tang flagship luxury SUV.It features a new steering wheel design, passenger-side entertainment screen, plaid leather seat trim, with an evolution of the geometric dash features which the Sealion 8 originally brought to the Australian market.It is likely it could be some time before such upgrades make it to our market, as BYD’s model strategy continues to diverge between its Chinese domestic line-up and its export market models.For example, Australia won’t receive the major updates to the BYD Atto 3 seen in the Chinese market. Instead, we’ll be getting the ‘Evo’ facelifted version, which has already debuted in Europe.Meanwhile the existing Sealion 8 has had a fairly robust year in Australia, having moved nearly five and a half thousand units in the first half of the year. This number was significantly boosted by a ship arrival, which accounted for 1961 units in June alone, but even without this boost the Sealion 8 has racked up more registrations than popular rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe (3089 units), Kia Sorento (2752 units) and the ageing Toyota Kluger (2475 units) so far in 2026.In its current form in Australia, the BYD Sealion 8 is priced from $56,990 before on-roads for the entry level front-wheel drive Dynamic, to $70,990 before on-roads for the AWD Premium.It produces either 205kW/315 in base FWD form, or 359kW/679Nm in AWD form as combined figures generated from its 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and either single or dual electric motor set-ups.BYD has shot to second position in the Australian new-car sales charts in the first half of the year, off the back of a massive model range expansion as well as dedicated ship deliveries to our market.It is already 10,000 units ahead of the previously second-placed Ford, having jumped 124.1 per cent year-on-year. It is second only to Toyota, although it appears to be closing the gap with Toyota down 21.4 per cent thanks to delays in the arrival of the new RAV4.Expect to learn more about the BYD Sealion 8 shortly as the official Chinese reveal nears.

Mazda may be behind much of the market when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), but it has a not-so-secret weapon to catch-up.The recently launched 6e is the first product of the Japanese brand’s decades long partnership with China’s Changan Automobiles to reach Australian showrooms, and it won’t be the last. The sedan’s SUV sibling, the CX-6e, is already confirmed for local launch and Mazda 6e Program Manager, Hiroshi Ozawa, hasn’t ruled out more models built in China joining the local range.Ozawa explained that Mazda has been able to learn a lot from its partnership with Changan, as the Chinese market is far more developed with both EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and that will be beneficial in speeding up Mazda’s adoption of these lower-emission powertrains.“ The Chinese market, actually over 60 per cent is EV and the PHEV, and we call them NEV, ‘new energy vehicles,’” Ozawa said.“That includes EV and PHEV and that mix is over 60 per cent… in the coastal area. The metropolitan area over 70 per cent mix. So in that sense, the technology development for the battery is also growing very fast.”In addition to the higher volume of these so-called new energy vehicles, the Chinese industry has become highly capable of developing this technology quicker and that is something Mazda can learn from. But Ozawa also said it was a two-way street, with Changan able to also learn from Mazda’s strengths.“How they develop the vehicles, compared to the traditional OEMs, their way of making things is different, and we can learn those things,” he said.“We have a joint venture with Changan Automobile so that we can absorb their strengths. And also we have strengths like driving, design, quality, those are what we are stronger , so what they can learn from us and through that we can develop a fantastic vehicle together. So that's the kind of learning we have.”Without wanting to dive into the specifics of what Mazda learned from Changan, which sells a modified version of the Mazda 6e as the Deepal L07 in China, Ozawa said the Chinese automotive industry is leading the way with its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), not only in-vehicles for connected car services, but also the development of the cars themselves.“Generally speaking, China is advanced,” he said. “They are ahead in those areas like connectivity and they are far advanced with AI, and they are going to produce the models using AI. So for that kind of thing, I think each OEM is going to learn from China. So we ourselves will also do the same. We will make sure to learn from this.”The addition of the CX-6e later this year will double Mazda’s EV portfolio in Australia but with EV sales hitting 23.3 per cent of the market in June, the brand may need more electric and PHEV models sooner rather than later if demand continues. Ozawa wouldn’t reveal any details but left the door wide open for more Chinese-built Mazdas to join the Australian showroom.“ We already announced publicly, but after that model reveal, we're not in the position to talk about now,” he said. “ But, we have a multi-solution strategy around that… we have partnerships with many other companies, not only Changan, so that we can introduce the right products to the right market at the right timing. So not only with Changan, but we have other partnerships. So we're trying to explore a lot of possibilities.”

Starting at $33,990 drive-away, the 2026 GWM Ora 5 Lux is a competitively priced small electric SUV from China that marks the relaunch of the Ora brand in Australia after the Ora hatchback faced an arguably unenthusiastic reception on launch a few years ago.With Australian ride and handling tuning and some updated ergonomics and tech, the Ora 5 SUV comes with a decent list of standard features including 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass, a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display, synthetic leather upholstery and electric driver’s seat adjustment.A single motor mounted at the front axle provides drive, with 150kW/260Nm outputs. It draws from a 58.3kWh battery and has a claimed consumption figure of 15.5kWh/100km, which GWM says results in a 435km range under WLTC testing.DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, and takes about 30 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent.ANCAP hasn’t completed an assessment of the Ora 5 SUV yet so, for now, the model remains unrated. It does however have seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert.GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty (with eight years for the battery), plus seven years of roadside assist and seven years capped-price servicing at $195 per service (every 12 months or 15,000km) is a strong ownership proposition.

MG is furthering its moves to retain its historic British links by showing off two new electric cars at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed.The MG ‘Go!’ and MG Cyber Concept have both been revealed at the motorsport-leaning festival that has increasingly become an occasion for brands to showcase new models and concepts they hope will connect with enthusiasts.Among a display of MG’s current line-up, the MG ‘Go!’ and Cyber Concept - the former a retro-inspired hatchback and the latter a large SUV with a wagon silhouette - both aim to draw on MG’s British heritage to build more brand cache in its Chinese-owned era.The ‘Go!’ is a preview of a model set to go into production in 2027, with inspiration taken from some of the brand’s iconic models like the MGB GT.But MG’s UK-based Design Director, Carl Gotham, didn’t intend “to create a nostalgic showpiece, but something contemporary and relevant” according to an MG press release."With MG ‘Go!’, we wanted to create something compact and contemporary, but also warm, expressive and immediately likeable, an embodiment of all that we admire about the MG brand,” said Gotham.“It is not about looking back for its own sake, but about capturing some of the clarity, charm and emotional appeal that have always made MG so distinctive, and reinterpreting that in a way that feels relevant today and crucially creating something with strong charisma.”The MG Cyber Concept, unrelated for the most part to the MG Cyberster sports car, also previews a future model.MG says it “draws inspiration from two defining chapters in MG’s history”, those being the EX181 land speed record car, and the “spirit of innovation and reinvention that continues to shape MG today”.The large SUV is set to be a high-performance model, with a “dynamic character and sense of occasion traditionally associated with sports cars”, according to MG.Very little of either model has been detailed in terms of specification or features, so we won’t know more until the production versions of these two concepts start to shape up closer to their respective launches.

Korea’s new electric performance hero is here. Hyundai high-end sub-brand Genesis has released pricing for its GV60 Magma SUV ahead of its arrival in Aussie showrooms this month.It will start from $130,000, before on-road costs, making it almost $50,000 more than the standard GV60. Genesis is Hyundai’s answer to European giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and this is the brand's first attempt at a high-performance car.The GV60 is a small SUV and goes up against the BMW iX2, Volvo XC40 Recharge and Zeekr X, but none of them can go toe-to-toe with the GV60 Magma variant. Its performance pitches it closer to the larger Hyundai Ioniq 5 N ($91,700) and Kia EV6 GT ($99,660).It is smaller than the mechanically similar Ioniq 5 and 6 N performance cars, but packs the same punch.It has two electric motors that drive all four wheels and produce 448kW and 740Nm.It can shift from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds using the boost function that increases power to 478kW and 790NmThe car is equipped with a 84kWh battery, offering a total driving range of 425km, according to WLTP standards. Its interior features a 27.0-inch OLED screen for the instrument cluster and multimedia display, while there is also a head-up display. The GV60 Magma has a virtual gear shift system, which gives the Magma the feel of real gear changes in a petrol car.There is also a drifting mode that can direct power to the rear wheels using an electric limited-slip differential to enable dynamic, track-based driving.  Hyundai confirmed production of the GV60 Magma in mid-2024, when it was revealed as a concept, with it finally now hitting Aussie shores.It will join the updated base GV60 that recently got a serious price cut in Australia, now starting from $88,300, down from more than $100,000. It will only be available with rear-wheel drive, meaning the Magma will be the GV60 with AWD available.

Reports out of the US overnight point to a significant delay in the start of production for the all-new, pure-electric Toyota Highlander large SUV, marking another faltering step in the Japanese giant’s shift towards broader adoption of battery-electric models.According to American automotive marketplace Cars.com, a Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) spokesperson told it the company is making “additional adjustments to the vehicle prior to launch.” Toyota uses the name Highlander in the USA and selected export markets while the Kluger nameplate is well established in Japan and Australia, with local Klugers coming out of Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana plant.The top-spec all-wheel drive 2027 Highlander has two electric motors, producing 252kW/438Nm and there are two battery options - 77kWh for a 462km range and 96kWh for 515km between charges. Initially set to launch in North America before the end of the year, a “minimum eight week delay” to production ramp up means the new-generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) may not hit showrooms there until early 2027.With no confirmation of revised launch timing for the new Highlander, TMNA also advised the current 2026 model will stay in production through to the end of the year.It’s worth noting while the Kluger is hybrid-only in Australia, the current Highlander is offered in pure-combustion and hybrid form in the States and US Highlander sales are currently strong, especially for hybrid variants. In fact, Cars.com has theorised part of Toyota’s motivation for holding back the new model is to “enjoy some extra profits on the fast-selling, top-dollar Highlander hybrids to keep that cash machine ringing while RAV4 production continues to slowly ramp up.”There’s no doubt a production extension for the current car will be welcomed by Toyota Australia, its dealers and Kluger buyers. Local sales for the first half of this year were down 46.3 compared to the same period in 2025, but additional supply could add a much needed boost.The new-gen Highlander EV is currently off the agenda for Australian consumption, with a Toyota Australia spokesperson previously telling CarsGuide there are no current plans to add a Kluger version to the range Down Under.But we’ve heard that line before, so don’t write off the Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9 and Volvo EX90 competitor for Australia just yet.On side note, the hold up will surely upset launch plans for the Lexus TZ, the Highlander’s premium counterpart and the Subaru Getaway, based on the upcoming model’s platform and basic architecture, both initially planned for 2026 introduction.After single-mindedly sticking to its long-term hybrid-led new energy vehicle (NEV) strategy Toyota has gradually moved towards EVs, introducing the bZ4X and more recently the bZ4X Touring and Electric HiLux locally, with the C-HR+ EV locked in for 2027.The plug-in hybrid RAV4, just-released in Australia, is on the same TNGA-K platform as the 2027 Highlander, which also opens the door to a future EV version.