Industry news

Genesis has just revealed its most luxurious car yet and it has used it as a statement to show it’s a cut above Chinese carmakers.Speaking with CarsGuide, Genesis Australia Head of Sales Operations Lachlan McColl explained that the South Korean carmaker is a closer rival to Range Rover and Rolls-Royce than Chinese luxury brands like XPeng or Zeekr.“Chinese manufacturers have made a significant impact on the Australian … in the last three, four or five years really since it started to come on quite significantly.”“When I do look at that, it’s one of the more mainstream cars.“If you look at a vehicle in isolation, then I think maybe you could potentially compare vehicles together. I think we offer so much more than that, though.“It’s not just about a piece of metal. It’s about we know our customers like cars that say certain things about them. It’s about achieving certain statuses in life stages.“At the moment, I don’t feel that the Chinese are quite there with having that brand perception. I think that’s one of the challenges that we’ve had as well.“If we look at those, the Europeans and the British, for example, that have up to 100 years of brand history and credibility and reliability and equity that they’ve built, we are in the process of building that.“I think the Chinese have started with that,” added McColl.McColl also noted that while the Chinese luxury carmakers offer a more compelling value proposition, the Genesis brand attracts a different type of customer.They are the type of people that are moving from brands like Bentley, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce and Porsche.The Genesis GV90 is the South Korean carmaker’s new flagship and is an all-electric rival to the Mercedes-Maybach EQS and the forthcoming Range Rover Electric.It will launch in Australia in the first half of 2027 and while official details are yet to be finalised, it’s understood that the flagship Neolun version may cost around $250,000, making it the most expensive Genesis model yet.The GV90 features two new world-first features: coach doors with a hidden B-pillar that allow for one large opening when the front and rear doors are open, as well as a roof airbag that’s designed to deploy during roll-over accidents and protect occupants from being ejected through the sunroof.Two versions are set to be available – the GV90 and GV90 Neolun – both powered by a dual-electric motor set-up with total system outputs of 490kW and 800Nm.The electric motors are fed by a 123.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which is the largest fitted to any Hyundai Motor Group EV to date. It allows for up to 500km of range, depending on the configuration, according to internal testing.

Tesla has recalled nearly three million cars in China in the country's biggest recall ever.This recall impacts flush door handles on more than four million cars from not just Tesla but Geely, Xiaomi and XPeng, too.Flush door handles became popular in part thanks to Tesla. Some only pop out when required, as opposed to conventional handles, which can always be used.The trend took off in China, and features on many cars built in the country now.They have now been found to be a serious safety concern following several incidents globally, with this recall the latest step to curb risk.This recall has been brought about by two fatal Xiaomi crashes in China, among many other incidents.The two Xiaomi incidents are suspected to have been caused by power failures preventing car doors from being able to be opened.Tesla accepted in a statement that interior door handles are “difficult to identify and operate because their colour is similar to the interior trim.”“In extreme situations such as a severe collision causing the vehicle's low-voltage system to fail, this could hinder occupants from quickly opening the doors to escape and impede rescue efforts by those outside the vehicle, posing a safety hazard,” the statement continued.Recalled vehicles will be fitted with a physical warning label on the interior door and receive a software update to automatically lower the windows in a crash.The Chinese government passed legislation to ban flush door handles earlier this year that will kick in from 1 January 2027. Cars will only be allowed to be sold in China if they have a mechanical release inside and outside. It’s not just China where flush door handles are of concern. The BBC reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States have anecdotes of the door handles not working and leaving children trapped in cars. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is Australia's vehicle safety watchdog.ANCAP’s Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg told CarsGuide earlier this year the body would stick with its current review cycle, but still monitor design developments across all markets. ANCAP recently introduced its 2026 protocols with a bigger focus on preventing crashes rather than just impact testing.The banning of flush door handles will be felt around the world, including Australia, where many cars built in China are sold, both from Chinese and international brands.New cars imported from China to Australia will no longer feature flush door handles from 2027.

XPeng has confirmed it will not only honour all offers made by previous importer TrueEV, but it will also extend its warranty to every G6 already sold into the Australian market.The factory-backed XPeng entity, which has been involved in a legal stoush with TrueEV for some time, has now made the commitment to existing owners to address ‘uncertainty’ created from its legal proceedings.XPeng says it will review documents surrounding various promotional offers made by True EV prior to the discontinuation of its distribution agreement and subsequent legal proceedings.This includes the much-reported $5000 cashback promotional offer, which many G6 buyers have yet to receive, a confirmation of an extended promotional 10-year warranty offering, complementary scheduled maintenance offers, as well as other “miscellaneous promotional and campaign offers”.The brand encourages any existing XPeng owners to contact it directly. It says cases will be reviewed individually and the company will “work with customers to reach an appropriate outcome”.The company says it has expanded its customer support team to handle enquiries “promptly”.XPeng says it will extend its factory-backed seven-year and unlimited kilometre warranty to all existing G6 vehicles purchased through TrueEV or any of its authorised dealers. The warranty will be as per the new factory-backed operation’s warranty documentation.The seven-year warranty is limited to 160,000km for commercial use, while the high-voltage battery, battery management system and drive motor unit is covered by a separate eight-year and 160,000km warranty.The paint is covered for five years and unlimited kilometres and the anti-corrosion and rust warranty is seven years and unlimited kilometres.XPeng also added it was formalising its participation in the motor vehicle service and repair information sharing scheme, “supporting customer choice in where and how vehicles are serviced”.XPeng is expanding its factory-backed dealer network so that new and existing owners can service their vehicles at genuine workshops. The brand has 25 showrooms but plans to double this network to 50 in six months.During its stoush with its previous importer TrueEV, XPeng has come under criticism for leaving existing G5 owners in the lurch when it comes to parts, servicing, warranty claims, and promotional offers offered under the TrueEV arrangement.The new announcement should come as a relief to existing owners waiting for cashback, parts, or servicing, although the reality of XPeng’s roll-out of these promises remains to be seen.The company is forging ahead with a renewed plan for model launches, announcing it will add the L03 coupe small SUV to the range before the end of the year, alongside plans to launch the L05 mid-sizer as a more affordable alternative to the G6 and the G9L large SUV seemingly in place of previous plans to launch the standard G9 under the previous importer.The company also said it will launch range-extended models in 2027, and its new flagship GX large SUV will arrive at a later date.

Buyers will get their first official look at the much-anticipated Pajero 4WD next week. Mitsubishi has confirmed it will reveal the Pajero on the 2nd of September 2026. It comes after Japanese magazine BestCar exposed the reveal date late last month via a dealer source.Mitsubishi is expected to release more details about the Pajero at the reveal, including potentially initial pricing for the car.  The returning Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser competitor is scheduled to arrive in Australia later this year. Next week’s announcement will give buyers more information about what to expect. The Pajero will be primarily based on Mitsubishi’s Triton ute, riding on a sturdy ladder frame chassis.It is thought to also employ a 2.4-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 150kW and 470Nm in the Triton.This could be matched with a six-speed automatic transmission and will be supported by a rugged 'S-AWC' four-wheel drive system. The off-road ready S-AWC system also found on the Outlander PHEV includes four-wheel braking and torque vectoring.The Pajero will be offered in the same four trim levels as the Triton, which are the GLX, GLS, Exceed and GSR. Mitsubishi has further revealed a digital revision of its iconic triple analogue instrument meters found on previous generations of the Pajero.CarsGuide spied the Pajero undergoing testing in December last year, with the prototype showing off a blocky exterior and horizontal front grille design. Mitsubishi has not locked in an official launch date for the Pajero in Australia, but next week’s reveal will provide more clues. The new Pajero was approved for sale in Australia earlier this year, and is expected to arrive Down Under by November. Buyers can expect firm launch information in the next few weeks. 

Nowadays, Australia may host more car brands than ever before, but we miss out on some very cool models.That’s because of a uniquely regional Australian Design Rule (ADR) requirement that can cost upwards of $5 million to implement for each series.Known as ADR 34/03, it stipulates that three top tether anchorage points must be fitted across each rear-seat position. But it can also create years of delays and blow out business cases due to the subsequent expenses involved.Probably the most disappointing recent example has been the Renault 5 E-Tech.Wooing buyers and critics alike, this award-winning electric vehicle (EV) hatchback has been a smash hit in Europe, melding desirable retro design with cutting-edge yet affordable tech.However, as CarsGuide outlined earlier this year, Renault importer Ateco Automotive may not even bother releasing the 5 E-Tech into Australia because it cannot afford the extra millions necessary for it to comply with ADR 34/03. The maths just doesn’t add up. Such a pity.The same also applies to the Renault 4 E-Tech, a larger and more crossover-style EV wagon that, though not as racy as its closely related 5 E-Tech sibling, possesses family friendly packaging that might make it a more-practical proposition.But all is not lost.Unlike the 5 E-Tech which, despite its diminutive supermini proportions, is only available as a full-fledged five-seater hatch, the 4 E-Tech can be ordered as a two-seater panel van dubbed the Société Van that ditches the back row.Since this eliminates the need to comply with ADR 34/03, it begs the question: why can’t Ateco simply import the 4 E-Tech Société as a commercial vehicle? Post-sale, owners could then add a rear seat if desired, fitted to specification by a vehicle engineering firm in Australia.This was widely done in the 1980s, notably with smaller Japanese cars like the Suzuki 800 hatch (1980), Daihatsu Handivan (1981) and Honda City (1984). Each one was only officially imported as a two-seater van.However, according to Renault Australia General Manager, Glen Sealey, importing the 4 E-Tech Société is unlikely, given the extreme niche that passenger-car-based vans would occupy, adding that the Kangoo commercial vehicle broadly fills a similar role.“We haven't looked at that as a solution, because for us, we've got the Kangoo,” he told CarsGuide at the Renault Master large van launch in Sydney last month.“And that small panel van passenger car market is negligible (in size) … it would be higher cost, for low reward.”This is in spite of the wider Renault brand portfolio actually already offering a number of car-based panel vans in right-hand-drive (RHD) Ireland.“That RHD European market does utilise a typical passenger vehicle for (small panel van) commercial use,” Sealey said.“They do it in the Duster (small SUV). They do with the Sandero (small car). They do it with Megane E-Tech.”Sealey added that companies, not individuals, are buying electric vans in Australia, and they would not go for passenger-car-derived alternatives, that tend to attract individuals running small businesses.“The tradie is not buying electric,” he said. The corporate market is, and the corporate market is buying a larger van.”

Cadillac is considering abandoning its plans to relaunch in the United Kingdom, according to a report in Auto Car. The General Motors sub-brand was initially planning to rejoin the UK market last year as a fully-electric car brand, but those ambitions now look to be in doubt. The revamped Cadillac brand is designed to take on luxury electric SUVs from Germany’s elite brands, including the Mercedes-Benz EQB and the BMW i3.  It is unclear whether this development could spell trouble for other right-hand drive markets like Australia in the future. Cadillac first announced it would relaunch in the UK in mid-2024, but since then, Auto Car reports there have been external changes impacting the brand’s plans."As the UK market and EV landscape continues to evolve rapidly with new competitors emerging, we are actively reviewing our future Cadillac plans to ensure they remain aligned with market conditions and customer demand, and we will continue to assess future opportunities accordingly,” a spokesperson for the brand told Auto Car. Cadillac is facing pressure from cheaper Chinese competitors BYD and Chery that are targeting luxury electric SUVs at a more affordable price point. Established luxury giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW already have strong appeal, making it challenging for Cadillac to break in on their territory. The brand wound up operations in the UK in 2010, suffering from disappointing sales and difficulties sourcing cars in right-hand drive.Cadillac’s Escalade high-end full-size V8- and electric-powered SUV has received a tepid sales response as the brand’s only model on sale in the UK, shifting just 20 units between July 2025 and March 2026.It's unclear whether a potential U-turn in a right-hand drive market could signal a similar fate in other markets, but the brand will power on Down Under for now. Cadillac only just launched in late 2024, and is actively adding to its Australian line-up, suggesting it sees a long-term future in Australia. It launched its Optiq mid-size and Vistiq three-row SUV earlier this year to complement the Lyriq two-row large SUV already on sale. Cadillac does not report its sales figures.Its models are pitched towards luxury-focused buyers, with the Optiq starting from $80,000, and prices rising up to more than $120,000 on the Lyriq. The brand slashed the pricing on its Lyriq electric SUV by $32,000 in May 2026 in a move to undercut the BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron.

Nissan continues to refine its business and product strategy with the under-pressure Japanese carmaker set to reorganise 80 per cent of its global nameplates into three broad families.As reported by Automotive News, the brand’s new ‘Family-Planning’ structure will see the introduction of five new body-on-frame models in two years to be introduced at ‘China Speed’.Nissan remains in the midst of a major global financial crisis, recording massive consecutive annual losses, including a A$7.0 billion net loss for the fiscal year ending March 2025 and a A$4.7 billion net loss for the year ending March 2026. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa launched the revised product approach as part of the company’s goal to cut its global product portfolio by 20 per cent to 45 models from 56 currently and slash development lead times from 50 to 30 months.The three product family groupings are mid-size (think X-Trail), compact family (think Qashqai/Note) and body-on-frame, the latter initially focused on reintroduction of the Xterra SUV in the US market from 2028, with it and “four sibling spinoffs” to be produced at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi plant by the end of the decade.Speaking at the company’s Yokohama headquarters on Friday, Nissan Deputy General Manager Product Business Division Hidemi Sasaki said the new direction will reduce vehicle development time by 40 per cent, enable a 20 per cent reduction in the number of different parts used and commonise 70 per cent of components.“China players are following different rules; they are changing the game. That’s why we are trying to do this transformation.“By revising the business scheme, we can reduce investment and efficiently engineer cars in a shorter period of time while catering to all the needs in the market,” he said.Nissan is aiming to optimise shared platforms, powertrains, software systems and components by planning an entire family at the same time. The US-made models will lead off with the five-seat Xterra SUV, followed by a three-row Nissan SUV, the Navara-sized Frontier pick-up, as well as two- and three-row Infiniti SUVs. Sasaki-san’s presentation included a teaser image of the upcoming Xterra with what Automotive News described as “a rugged stance, flared fenders, angled C-pillar, indented hood and semi-solid front fascia with the Nissan name spelled out in capital letters.”He said the frame family will share about 70 per cent of components forward of the B-pillar and underneath, including the platform, V6 and V6 parallel hybrid powertrains, software, electrical system, navigation and driver-assist systems.Vehicles will then be given specific rear ‘top hats’ to differentiate them as pick-ups, three-row SUVs or premium Infiniti vehicles, the latter receiving their own interiors and exterior styling.While recognising Nissan already develops multiple vehicles around common, modular platforms, Sasaki said, “The timing is what is different. In the first stage, we will plan multiple models at the same time.“In the traditional way, we tried to do this, but the business planning was not as fast,” he said.Performance models including the Z or a future GT-R, as well as light commercial vans fall outside the scope of the family structure for now.

GAC has confirmed missing safety features in an upcoming new variant of its Emzoom small SUV will be reinstated for the Australian market after feedback.The company announced on the 18th of August that it was introducing a new base version of the Emzoom, the Premium, which would bring the price-of-entry down by $3000 to $22,990, drive-away.Sitting below the Emzoom Luxury ($26,990, drive-away), the new entry-level variant seems expressly designed to make it more affordable than rivals like the GWM Haval Jolion, MG ZS, and segment-dominating Chery Tiggo 4, while stripping out several features.Notable omissions included safety features, like seatbelt pre-tensioners and rear seatbelt warning systems, although the active safety items like autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keep aids were maintained from the top-spec Luxury grade.However, now due to feedback from “customers and industry stakeholders” GAC says it will reinstate the seatbelt features available on the Luxury grade.The brand said the omission was because those features were not standard equipment on the Premium grade in other markets, which contributed to their exclusion from the Australian spec.A GAC spokesperson told CarsGuide an initial batch of cars set to arrive in Australia in September will remain without the seatbelt tensioners and rear seatbelt reminders, although any car which arrives from November 2026 onwards will have those features reinstated. It is unclear at this stage whether the drive-away price will remain the same after that date.GAC said in a statement: “Providing vehicle specifications that meet, and where possible exceed the expectations of Australian customers and industry experts remain a priority for GAC.”The Emzoom is yet to be rated by independent safety body ANCAP. Of the brand’s current range, only the fully electric Aion V mid-size SUV has been rated, and was awarded a maximum five stars to the 2025 standards.Other features stripped from the new entry-level Emzoom Premium include auto-folding mirrors, electric door handles, interior ambient lighting, ventilation and power adjust for the driver’s seat, as well as rear USB ports.The Emzoom is currently GAC’s best-seller in Australia, moving 422 units so far this year. It ranks just ahead of the Aion V electric mid-size SUV. Unlike rivals which have hybrid variants available further up the price-scale, the Emzoom is only available with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.The Guangzhou-based Chinese automaker has big plans to be a top 10 player in Australia by 2028 and has promised both a larger hybrid SUV and a ute for our market in the coming years.

It ultimately helped end Holden, and the same can happen with an alarmingly high number of other prominent car brands.We’re talking about the over-reliance on one single model in Australia.It is the ‘eggs all in one basket’ that leaves sales and financials vulnerable when the inevitable happens – a popular model starts to run out of steam with consumers.Factors include newer competition, ageing models and external outside forces like spiking oil prices and evolving buyer tastes.Here, then, are some of Australia’s most vulnerable brands due to the over-dependence on one model line.Geely’s ‘Gen-Z geek’ sub-brand has struck a chord with Australians thanks to the strikingly styled 7X, and deservedly so.However, did you know there are two other, older Zeekr models sitting beside it on the showroom floor? A smaller SUV known as the X and a large people mover badged 009.Combined, they make up just 6.4 per cent of Zeekr’s year-to-date (YTD) sales, while the 7X takes the lion’s share at an incredible 93.4 per cent. Let’s hope the latter keeps the momentum up.Tesla’s Model 3 may have opened the floodgates for electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia since arriving in mid 2019, but it has now been subsumed by the larger SUV offshoot, the Model Y.The YTD sales data tells the story, with the 3’s sales tumbling 18.4 per cent to 3326 units, while the Y’s tally – supercharged by the new three-row L version – has now breached the 25,000 mark.That puts the hunchbacked SUV at 88.3 per cent of total Tesla sales, with the sedan taking the remaining 11.7 per cent.But with no S, X or ute to provide support, the Model Y is vulnerable against an unrelenting tide of mid-sized EV SUV alternatives, like the Zeekr 7X.From nowhere, the cheapest Jaecoo from Chery’s Land Rover-aping sub-brand, the J5, is responsible for more than two-thirds of all volume.This leaves three other models, the J7, J8 and Omoda 9, to fight over the crumbs.Isuzu hasn’t developed its own passenger car since the early 1990s, electing to concentrate on utes and trucks instead.The D-Max is responsible for 63 per cent of all Isuzu Ute sales YTD. It sits fourth after the Ranger, HiLux and Shark 6 on the charts.The other 37 per cent belongs to the M-UX SUV version of the ute, and that currently occupies third place amongst large SUVs behind the Ford Everest and Prado.This country sure loves a body-on-frame three-row wagon.But both Isuzus are diesel-only powered, meaning that, with no hybrid or EV in sight for Australia, Isuzu Ute faces steep fines due to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) carbon tax.And that’s just going to increase annually in severity, which will really hurt Isuzu Ute, unless it pulls something out of the hat, and fast.Australia’s top-selling vehicle since 2023, the Ranger is responsible for some 62.3 per cent of Ford’s total volume YTD.Combined with its Everest SUV offshoot, that jumps to a staggering 88.7 per cent. Given there are seven other distinct models squabbling over the remaining 11.3 per cent, that's a worry.The next most popular Ford YTD is the Transit Custom van at just three per cent, followed by the Mustang at 2.8 per cent, F-150 at 2.45 per cent, Transit Cargo at 1.9 per cent, Tourneo people mover at 0.5 per cent and Mustang Mach-E at 0.33 per cent.But storm clouds are in the air for the Blue Oval’s popular ute-based duo, with both Ranger and Everest sales down this year, thanks to fierce competition from new rivals including the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).While a Ranger PHEV does exist, it costs too much and delivers too little by comparison, meaning the vast majority of volume belongs to the diesel versions.That’s a lot of NVES fines Ford is facing, unless the incoming Bronco PHEV SUV and other future EVs grow the brand's share of the total market without cannibalising Ranger and Everest.With demand for the latest Vitara tanking, the Swift hybrid struggling and the Fronx floundering, it’s been the Jimny small 4WD that has kept Suzuki humming along, accounting for 56.6 per cent of all volume YTD.Likewise, the Defender attracts the most business for Land Rover in Australia, taking 54.1 per cent of all orders YTD.The Haval Jolion small SUV has performed the heavy lifting for GWM YTD, at 53.9 per cent of total sales, as has the X-Trail for Nissan, at 53 per cent.Australia’s continuous number one since 2003, Toyota boasts several high-volume models, including the RAV4, Prado, Corolla, HiAce, Camry and Yaris Cross.Yet even the brand’s most popular vehicle – the HiLux – only makes up 23.6 per cent of the company’s total sales YTD.Similarly, BYD’s top performer, the Sealion 7, is at 25 per cent, Kia’s biggest crowd-pleaser, the Sportage, is at 23.1 per cent and this country’s favourite Mazda, the CX-5, is at 26.4 per cent.The smaller the percentage, the higher the chances are your brand will weather any storm. Sadly, the writing was on the wall long before Australia's Own started to see its sales slide.Holden’s downfall is largely down to its over-reliance on one model. It was always the way, right back even before the Kingswood years.Here's the most telling stat. Australia’s best-seller for 15 years in a row from 1996 until 2011, sales of the Commodore crashed to just 50 position in 2019.That was following the disaster that was replacing the rear-drive VF series made in Australia with the smaller, front-wheel drive-based Opel Insignia out of Germany as the ZB series. This happened as a result of Holden’s manufacturing shutdown in 2017.The latter bombed so hard that it was cancelled in December of 2019, with Holden effectively over by the following February.

Japan’s carmakers are finding ways to fight back against the growing might of Chinese auto brands.Outside of Toyota most Japanese carmakers are not big enough, or rich enough, to balloon out to the size of some of the new Chinese powerhouses.Relatively small manufacturers such as Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru don’t have the resources to overhaul their collective ranges and invest in electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid technology all at once.Instead they are borrowing from others. Subaru joined forces with Toyota to build EVs, Mazda with China’s Changan and Mitsubishi with Taiwan's Foxtron, the latter is part of the company that builds iPhones.They now have the tech but predicting demand for electric cars is proving difficult for all manufacturers.Mazda and Subaru have found the solution.Mazda is developing a new way of producing cars that would allow one production line to make internal-combustion engined vehicles, hybrids and electric vehicles depending on demand.Subaru is also working on flexible production lines to help it make the most of its modest production resources, without having to build new factories or re-tool old ones.This would help the pair adjust to lulls in EV demand without having to mothball production lines, which has impacted other major makers such as Ford and Volkswagen.Subaru Managing Executive Officer Ikuo Watanabe told US outlet Autonews it would be able to adapt to changes in tariffs of exchange rate fluctuations to shuffle production between factories around the world.“Demand trends are uncertain and we cannot predict which powertrain, battery-electric, hybrid or internal combustion engine, will sell well and when,” Watanabe said. “Making an investment decision on one specific technology poses the greatest risk.”Mazda has pushed back its own in-house developed electric cars until 2029, with it instead relying on Changan’s production to deliver its reskinned EVs. Hybrid versions of its CX-5 SUV won’t arrive in the US until late 2027 before rolling out to other markets, including Australia.But it already has a plan in place to build all its different powered vehicles on the same line when they are available towards the end of the decade.Former Toyota boss and now head of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Koji Sato recently called for the country’s carmakers to join forces or risk oblivion, according to Autonews.“Unless things change, we will not survive,” Sato said. He is calling for all brands to have uniform parts to help reduce costs and complexity across the industry.Japan’s automakers believe this will help them tackle China’s scale and speed.