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BYD’s model range looks to expand even further as the Chinese brand sets its sights on a podium finish in Australia by the end of 2026.We already know the brand will add the Sealion 5 affordable hybrid mid-size SUV and the Sealion 8 three-row SUV during the course of the year, but now thanks to new regulatory approval documents we can see two new as-yet-unannounced models are in the works.These are the Seal 6 sedan and its Touring wagon spin-off.The new information filed with the road vehicle descriptor database confirms the vehicles as plug-in hybrids, meaning they will likely complement the existing Seal sedan, which is pure electric.They are approved with two battery specifications (15kWh or 21.6kWh) both are paired with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. The engine produces just 70kW/120Nm, while there are two electric motor options, either 120kW/210Nm or 160kW/260Nm for total combined outputs of either 130kW or 163kW.In China those battery options provide a driving range of up to 128km for the 15kWh version, or 210km for the 25kWh version, but these are measured to the more lenient CLTC standard.Chinese prices indicate the sedan could be a non-SUV plug-in hybrid price leader.In China, the base 15kWh variant starts from the equivalent of just $21,000. If it follows the usual logic of adding roughly 20 per cent to the price by the time it lands in Australia, this would place the Seal 6 PHEV range in the $25,000 to $30,000 price bracket.The Seal 6 sedan and wagon were recently released in their Chinese home market, and carry a more recent version of the brand’s signature ‘Ocean’ styling language compared to the current Seal electric sedan.Chinese versions are front-wheel drive and have independent rear suspension. The Seal 6 can charge at up to 48kW on a DC connector suggesting a sub-30 minute charge time. Expect an 8.8-inch digital dash, either a 12.8 or 15.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen, over-the-air connectivity and updates, a 50W wireless phone charger, full LED lighting with some grades getting RGB ambient interior lighting, synthetic leather interior trim, dual-zone climate and V2L. The interior also adopts a newer and more refined styling approach compared to the Seal EV, and features a stalk-mounted gear shifter, which frees up more space in an also-redesigned centre console.The sedan offers 550 litres of boot space according to Chinese specs, while the wagon offers a significantly larger 670L with the rear seats up.BYD has made no secret of its lofty ambitions in 2026, with the new boss of the now-factory-backed operation Stephen Collins saying a top-three finish by the end of the year was “ambitious, but we think it’s possible”.“We want to move from a challenging brand to more of a leadership position,” he told CarsGuide previously.Part of this strategy would be “having a crack in every segment”, according to newly appointed Denza boss, Mark Harland, who worked on BYD during its rise before being appointed the chief of its premium spin-off.He said the brand looked to challenge Toyota’s market dominance by battling it across the market, not just in the biggest-selling SUV market segments.“Toyota has something like 95 per cent of the segments in Australia covered by at least one variant, and if we want to ever be number one we need to have vehicles available in those segments too,” he said.For its part, the Seal 6 is well placed to challenge everything from the Toyota Camry to the Skoda Octavia and Kia K4.BYD’s meteoric rise in 2025 (up 156.2 per cent) will need to be replicated again in 2026 if it wants a shot near the top of the market. To do so it will need to unseat some behemoths of the industry, like Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Mazda.Stay tuned for more details on the Seal 6 PHEV and BYD’s plans for the rest of the year imminently.

Mahindra has historically never publicly shared information regarding its Australian new vehicle sales figures, but it has given us a glimpse of how it fared during 2025.Last year the Indian carmaking giant sold a total of 4653 new vehicles, which is up 11.6 per cent year-on-year.This makes Mahindra the 29th best-selling brand in Australia, outselling Renault (4569 sales), KGM (4116 sales), Cupra (2830 sales) and Jeep (1585 sales).The brand hasn’t provided a model-by-model breakdown of its sales, but it now offers a total of three SUVs in Australia.Its latest edition was the XUV3XO small SUV, which launched in mid-2025. Mahindra claims its introduction increased overall sales by 42 per cent.The Mahindra XUV3XO is still tied for Australia’s cheapest SUV with the Chery Tiggo 4 and GWM Haval Jolion at $23,990 drive-away.Earlier in 2025 Mahindra launched a model year update for the Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail-rivalling XUV700, which saw it receive an all-black interior trim as standard, plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and ventilated front seats with memory on the flagship AX7L trim.Thanks to run-out offers the XUV700 is now priced from $35,990 drive-away for the AX7 trim and $38,990 drive-away for the AX7L trim. This makes it Australia’s cheapest seven-seat SUV.Just before the end of 2025 the Indian carmaker detailed a major safety upgrade for its Scorpio large body-on-frame SUV.It now receives a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) functionality that are claimed to be “designed for Australian roads and conditions”. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control with stop and go, front vehicle start alert, lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane centring, traffic sign recognition, forward collision warning and automatic high-beam.The pre-update Scorpio went without all of the aforementioned safety features and notably received a zero-star ANCAP safety rating back in 2023 due in part to this. It’s unclear when or if Mahindra plans to retest this updated model.Other new features in the 2026 Mahindra Scorpio Z8L+ include an electric park brake with auto hold, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, as well as ventilated front seats.A seven-seat configuration is now standard with the six-seat configuration featuring second-row captain’s chairs getting the axe.Despite these changes, pricing for the Scorpio for the new Z8L+ trim has only risen $2000 over the pre-update Z8L range-topper. It’s priced from $48,990 drive-away.

China’s JMC (short for Jiangling Motors Corporation) has confirmed it will be relaunching in the Australian market during 2026.The Chinese carmaker was previously in Australia from 2015 to 2018 with a single vehicle, the Vigus dual-cab ute, and left due to poor sales.Danny Lenartic has now been appointed as the CEO of JMC Motor Australia and is spearheading the local expansion of the dealer network. Lenartic has previously been involved in bringing JAC and MG to Australian shores.At this stage Lenartic hasn’t confirmed how many JMC dealers will be established, but the local operation will be a distributor model and not factory-backed.JMC’s first model in its latest attempt at the Australian market is a new version of the Vigus dual-cab ute.This new Vigus is completely unrelated to the previous model offered in Australia.It has already been approved for local sale and Lenartic confirmed pre-production versions are on their way to Australia for prospective dealers to view.According to the local approval filing, the Vigus is powered by a 3.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine which produces 118kW and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission which sends drive through an all-wheel drive system.It’s unclear whether this 3.3-litre turbo-diesel engine is an error in the filing documents as the Vigus is currently only offered with either a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder or 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine in China.Other details from the filing include standard 17-inch wheels which can be upgraded to larger 18-inch rims.In China, the Vigus is offered with features like a 3.5-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.8-inch touchscreen multimedia system, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.It’s too early for JMC to announce local pricing and specifications for the Vigus, but it’ll likely be on the budget end of the segment and compete with the likes of the GWM Cannon, JAC T9 and LDV T60, among others.At this stage it’s unclear what other JMC models could be on the cards for an Australian launch. Lenartic told CarsGuide that JMC has a vast portfolio but whatever comes here needs to be right for Australians.“Watch this space,” said Lenartic.JMC offers wide range of commercial vehicles, including utes, vans, trucks and buses. There are electric offerings, too.

Geely’s new mid-size, soft-roader style hybrid SUV is set to launch in the UK, with its right-hand drive revelation opening the door for an Aussie arrival.

Tesla has been rolling its new, budget-oriented Standard line-up into different markets and the next is firming as China.As reported by Car News China, an image of the Model Y Standard appeared on the Tesla China website on its home charging webpage last week but quickly disappeared again.According to the publication, Weibo user Anting Dafan, who reportedly contacted Tesla said it is gearing up to launch not only the Model Y Standard but also the Model 3 Standard in China. The latter will reportedly launch first.Tesla initially launched the Model 3 and Model Y Standard in the US, but it’s now being offered in a number of European countries with German production.Given Chinese production of the Standard models is reported to commence soon, this means it could be closer to an Australian launch.Virtually every Tesla currently sold in Australia, excluding the German-made Model Y Performance, is made in China.If the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y Standard do come to Australia they will likely reduce the asking price for both models by a considerable amount.Car News China reports the Model 3 and Model Y Standard will be priced around 200,000 yuan (~A$42,800). In China the current Model 3 RWD costs 235,500 yuan (~A$50,400) and the Model Y RWD costs 263,500 yuan (~A$56,400) in China, representing potential price cuts of 35,500 yuan (~A$7600) and 63,500 yuan (~A$13,600), respectively.If similar pricing differences carry over to the Australian-specification Model 3 and Model Y Standard, this could see pricing start from around $47,000 and $45,000, respectively. It’s unlikely the Model Y Standard will be more affordable than the Model 3 Standard though.Details of the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y Standard are yet to be confirmed.In other markets both the Model 3 and Model Y Standard are slower to 100km/h, likely meaning they come with a less powerful rear-mounted electric motor.The Model 3 Standard can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.2 seconds (1.0 seconds slower than the Premium RWD) and the Model Y Standard can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 7.2 seconds (1.6 seconds slower than the Premium RWD).It also appears both have a smaller battery pack than the rest of the line-up. Tesla doesn’t disclose exact battery capacities, though the Model 3 and Model Y Standard can travel up to 534km, according to WLTP testing.There are different 18-inch wheel designs and fewer exterior paint colour selections. The Model Y Standard also ditches the front and rear LED light bars, adaptive high-beam functionality and panoramic glass sunroof, however the Model 3 Standard retains the latter two features.Inside, both models receive fabric and synthetic leather combination upholstery. There’s no interior ambient lighting, the steering column is manually adjusted and the second-row touchscreen is deleted.Additionally, there’s a less-sophisticated sound system with fewer speakers, no ventilated front seats, no heated outboard rear seats and manually adjusted second-row air vents.The Model Y Standard in particular has an open centre console unlike the Model Ys which have storage cubbies with retractable lids.Under the skin both the Model 3 and Model Y Standard have passive shock absorbers unlike the other non-Performance trims which have frequency dependent suspension.All the safety hardware tech for both models is carried over, including the eight exterior cameras which allow for Full Self-Driving (FSD) as an optional extra.The potential introduction of the Model 3 and Model Y Standard in Australia could help spur sales. In 2025 Tesla sold a total of 28,856 new vehicles, which is down 24.8 per cent year-on-year.The Model Y is still the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in Australia and saw 4.6 per cent year-on-year sales growth, sales of the Model 3 were down over 60 per cent year-on-year.

Ford is looking to add new Raptor models to its lineup, according to Ford Authority.The Raptor name represents the high-performance, off-road specialist variants of Ford models.Ford’s Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said more Raptor models are in the works, at the recent Barclays Global Auto and Mobility Tech Conference."I know that some people in the audience here just had a wonderful ride in some of our Raptors, and that's a product that I think that we're going to be doing a bit more of as well," House said. “We're going to be leaning into these products that are just passion products. I mean, these are vehicles that people love.”Adding further fuel to the Raptor fire, is Ford's Dakar rally commitment to the range.The brand fielded its largest amount of Raptor-badged cars ever in the off-road race, with four factory Ford Racing Raptor T1+ full-size pick-ups and four additional privateer Raptors competing on the same core platform."Those privateer entries are a deliberate part of how we grow the Raptor ecosystem globally — sharing technology, data, and durability across customer teams who are pushing the same hardware in the same extreme conditions," Ford said in a press release before the race.There is nothing offical yet on what these new Raptor models could be.The Ranger Raptor ute is the only Ford currently on sale in Australia bearing the iconic name plate, sitting at the top of the best-selling Ranger line-up. One new possibility is a Ford Mustang Raptor. The Mustang is the best-selling sports car in Australia and the Blue Oval’s third best seller behind the Ranger ute and Everest SUV. An Everest Raptor is another possibility, but it would likely need to get the V6 petrol engine found in the Ranger Raptor.There is also a Raptor variant of the Bronco compact SUV, but the Bronco has never been officially sold in Australia. 

BMW has finally revealed initial details of its first fully electric M car and it will be a full-on performance sedan with simulated gear shifts and powertrain sound, brutal straight-line performance and decent driving range.Based on the BMW i3 sedan that’s expected to be revealed in the coming months, the new electric M3 will be sold alongside a new-generation version of the internal combustion engine (ICE) M3.The next-gen ICE 3 Series is yet to be unveiled but it is expected to have a closer relationship design wise with the i3 than the new iX3 has with the regular X3.BMW has not yet uttered the name of the electric performance sedan, but expect something along the lines of ‘i3 M’. For now BMW is calling it the M Neue Klasse and it’s will hit showrooms from 2027.Head of Project BMW M Neue Klasse, Philipp Brunn, talked up the significance of the new electric M models.“So in a nutshell, the next generation of fully electric BMW M models will lead the way into the new era for high-performance cars. We will set a new benchmark regarding driving dynamics, performance and overall driving experience,” he said.Based on BMW's multi-billion-dollar Neue Klasse architecture, the new electric M3 benefits from some of the innovations of the iX3 and coming i3, including a reduction in the complexity of the car’s electronic systems, making for “faster data transfer between the control units, leading to clear performance gains”, according to Brunn.The ‘Heart of Joy’ - which is Neue Klasse’s central computing system that integrates the drivetrain and driving dynamics into one, rather than having separate algorithms for accelerating and braking - has been tailored for the specific needs of M customers, said Brunn.“First, our fully electric models will feature four electric motors allowing fully independent and fast wheel control. Every wheel we can do whatever we like at very, very fast speed.“Second, the car's overall output, horsepower, torque, acceleration will reach new heights, and therefore needs to be managed accordingly with such important system. And finally, the overall system management will prioritise sustainable peak performance over efficiency and range, supporting driving excitement and track focus typical for BMW M models.”That means the M version of the i3 will have a slightly lower electric driving range to the regular i3. That figure is yet to be confirmed but expect the regular i3 sedan to have EV range a little beyond the quoted figure for the iX3 50xDrive SUV, which is 805km.“We have a precise control of torque and power of each wheel, so we can fully utilise the performance potential of our tyres. And this can be done on all friction surfaces, so from low friction to high friction, snow, rain and so on," Brunn continued.“We can blend the torque between electro-hydraulic brakes and the e-motors. So we can, again, do whatever is necessary from braking or energy recovery. The energy recovery is possible to the limit of tyre friction, so we can, if we like or not, use recovery, or we can shift between brain and the motors, and the design is very compact, so we have high efficiency and also high power density, which also helps integrating the powerful motors into the car.”Brunn added that M engineers had to “push the limits of the battery” used in the base Neue Klasse (a 108kWh lithium-ion battery pack housed under the floor with cylindrical cells).Additional cooling, a different cell layout and slightly altered cells ensure “higher sustainable power, and faster charging compared to the other Neue Klasse models”, Brunn said.Additional connections from the battery to the vehicle and the suspension system helps stiffen the vehicle in a bid to enhance vehicle dynamics.The new M car will use a number of sustainable and lightweight materials, including a less carbon intensive version of carbon fibre.To help keep the BMW M DNA alive, the M car will feature performance driving modes, synthetic gear shifting and BMW M specific sounds that also relate to the gear shifting.The synthetic driving sound was revealed at the end of a BMW M Electrified Youtube video, from about 7:40.The audio in the video reveals subtle burbling, and what sounds like a cross between a high-powered four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and a jet engine.The significant investment into electric M opens the door to more models, with a full fat iX3 M expected to be the next candidate.BMW is yet to officially announce that but Head of BMW Neue Klasse, Mike Reichelt, previously hinted it was on the cards.“When we go on the M side in such a big step, and we have such a high number of common parts communality, it has a logic to say we have the technology, we have the cars, we combine it. But I can't… confirm it today, but it has a logic way,” he said at the iX3 reveal in September.

Sales of new Chinese-made cars in Australia have been on the rise for a number of years now, but 2025 saw it reach new heights.According to VFACTS sales data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, a total of 221,699 new vehicles imported from China were sold in Australia, which is up 25.9 per cent year-on-year.It’s worth noting that this figure doesn’t include Tesla and Polestar sales. Every Polestar and almost every Tesla (excluding the updated Model Y Performance) sold in Australia are made in China.Combining this Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) sales data, it’s understood more than 252,000 Chinese-made cars were sold in Australia during 2025. An exact figure can’t be determined as Tesla doesn’t provide any data indicating how many of its Australian-delivered cars were made in China and Germany.Even despite this, China has now overtaken Thailand as the second largest new vehicle import market in Australia. A total of 249,958 Thai-made new vehicles were sold in Australia during 2025, which is down 8.2 per cent year-on-year.It’s worth noting that this is still behind Japan, which has been the largest new vehicle import market in Australia for decades now. A total of 358,981 Japanese-made new vehicles were sold in Australia last year, which is down 5.3 per cent year-on-year.The large jump in Chinese-made new vehicles in Australia is likely attributable to the wealth of new Chinese brands that launched last year. Examples include Deepal, Geely, JAC, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, Omoda, XPeng and Zeekr.These brands are able to scale quickly in Australia as they view it as a test market for further expansion. Plus, there are no import tariffs to hinder potential sales.There was also astronomical growth in a number of existing Chinese brands in Australia. Sales of Chery vehicles were up 176.8 per cent year-on-year and BYD vehicles were up 156.2 per cent year-on-year.Chinese brands GWM, BYD and MG have all cemented their place in the top 10 best sellers and continue to grow.Although Chinese-made car sales rose a considerable amount last year, the top 10 best-selling models were largely imported from Japan or Thailand. The best-selling Chinese-made car last year was the 10th placed Tesla Model Y with a total of 22,239 examples sold.A number of non-Chinese carmakers have been taking note of how Chinese-made cars have been performing in Australia and are quickly pivoting to producing models in that country.As examples, the Cupra Tavascan, Kia EV5, Lotus Eletre and Emeya, as well as the forthcoming Hyundai Elexio, Mazda 6e and Mazda CX-6e are all made in China.For now we'll have to wait and see, but China could soon topple Japan and become the biggest new vehicle import market in Australia if it continues its trajectory.

To torture a well worn Mark Twain reference, if Australia’s 2025 new vehicle sales numbers are anything to go by, reports of the diesel engine’s death are greatly exaggerated.According to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFacts registration data, for the full calendar year of 2025 diesel-powered vehicles across passenger, SUV and light commercial segments totalled 364,605 units, only 1.7 per cent lower than 2024’s overall number (370,818).In fact, sales of diesel-powered passenger cars were up 1.3 per cent year-on-year (10,372 vs 10,242) with diesel SUV sales rising no less than 6.0 per cent (122,603 vs 115,670).Diesel light-commercial sales were down 5.4 per cent (231,630 vs 244,906) while plug-in hybrid commercials went from zero in 2024 to 20,634 last year.A coincidence that 18,073 examples of BYD’s Shark 6 PHEV dual cab ute found homes last year? We think not.The Ford Ranger was the best selling vehicle in 2025, but it wasn't alone at the top.Traditional diesel-heavy sellers the Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Everest and Toyota Prado filled the third to sixth slots on the 2025 overall sales leader board with others such as the Mitsubishi Triton lifting year-on-year volume, too. Only the second placed Toyota RAV4 Hybrid managed to break up diesel's dominance atop the new car sales charts last year.Of course, nothing stays the same forever and given the rapidly shifting form of the Australian new vehicle market and the increasing impact of the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) regime there’s a chance the diesel engine’s status may have changed dramatically by the end of 2026.But for now, it appears diesel power isn’t headed for the automotive graveyard just yet.  Australian diesel vehicle registrations:

Many brands are now realising it isn’t feasible to go all-electric for all markets and as a result are pivoting to offer hybrid technology alongside.As reported by Autocar, Renault is the latest and could rework its next generation of electric vehicles (EVs) to also offer range-extender (REEV) powertrain technology, which it is tentatively calling ‘Super Hybrid’.“We’ve got a two-leg approach,” said Renault product boss Bruno Vanel to Autocar.“The direction is towards EVs, so we are focusing on EVs and the efficiency of the vehicles, but it doesn't prevent us from looking at solutions like the one Horse has presented.”At last year’s Munich Motor Show, Horse Powertrain, which is co-owned by Renault Group and Geely, revealed a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that can be installed in an EV and act as a generator to charge the battery pack.“Things which extend the electric range of EVs look to us to be a very interesting and probably relevant solution to go towards an electric world - for the south of Europe, for example, or for people who cannot charge every two or three days,” added Vanel.“It could be a very good solution for the C- and D-segment and the next platform we are developing.”Renault is currently working on a new platform, originally designed to be EV-only, which will underpin its forthcoming mid-size vehicles.At this stage the first vehicle on this new platform will be a production version of the 2024 Embléme concept and it’s reportedly due around 2028.It’s worth noting that Renault has not disclosed any plans to adapt its current EV platforms or models to accommodate REEV powertrain technology.A number of carmakers are using the term ‘Super Hybrid’. Though the exact implementations vary from brand to brand, they largely all encompass some form of plug-in hybrid (PHEV).In Australia MG uses Super Hybrid on the PHEV version of its HS SUV, Chery uses it on the PHEV versions of its Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 SUVs, plus Jaecoo uses it on the PHEV versions of its J7 SUV.Although it doesn’t use the exact term Super Hybrid, Leapmotor is currently the only carmaker in Australia to offer REEV powertrain technology. It’s currently offered in the mid-sized C10 SUV.Previously REEV powertrains featured in a version of the BMW i3, as well as the Holden Volt.“Super Hybrids can help people to get into the electric world with less anxiety than they have today,” said Vanel to Autocar.“When you are talking about cars with more than 1000km of range, you know that even if you don't find a charge point, you can still drive."