Industry news

Honda will ramp up its model offering in Australia after a lean few years in a bid to grow its presence Down Under and fend off new and old rivals alike.

Chery boss says the brand's incoming challenger ute won't look anything like what we've seen so far.

With dual cab ‘pick-up’ versions of its just-released Tasman ute now in local showrooms, Kia has confirmed pricing for cab chassis variants of the much-anticipated newcomer.

China’s Deepal hasn’t launched the S05 small SUV in Australia yet but a new super long-range electric version is reportedly set to be revealed in China tomorrow.

Honda has finally outed the full production-ready version of its reborn Prelude sports car and the good news is, it’s locked in for Australia.

China’s GWM has slowly but surely been ramping up how it’s localising its cars for Australian conditions and it has now reached a major milestone.After hiring ex-GM Holden Chief Engineer Rob Trubiani as its new Product Engineering Manager in March this year, the Chinese carmaker has now taken up a permanent residency at the Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria.This iconic facility is currently owned by Vietnamese carmaker Vinfast, but was previously owned by Holden where countless Australian classics were developed.It’s worth noting that GWM hasn’t given any indication on whether it actually plans to purchase the Australian proving ground from Vinfast.As a result of taking up this long-term permanent residency, GWM now has the ability to use Lang Lang as a “cornerstone” for its local product development.GWM’s engineering teams have already been using Lang Lang, but this residency now allows for “even greater opportunities for collaboration, faster iteration, and more ambitious goals”.This means the Chinese carmaker can now engineer dedicated ride and handling packages, undertake full vehicle integration and execute precision tuning for its vehicle line-up under Australian conditions.“With full-time access to Lang Lang now secured, this is far more than symbolic, it’s a statement of intent,” said GWM Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Chief Operating Officer John Kett.“When Rob presented the idea of establishing Lang Lang as our home base for local development, it was met with overwhelming support, both locally and from our global leadership.“Rob has been relentless in defining what the true GWM feel should be for our markets, and with the right tools now in place, we’re confident this investment will deliver improved products right here on home soil.”“Lang Lang is an iconic proving ground, one of the best in the world,” said Trubiani.“It’s an absolute dream to be back, developing great cars specifically for Australian and New Zealand drivers.“I know this track like the back of my hand, having spent a considerable amount of my career here with Holden.“The intimate knowledge I have of the road network, combined with understanding the high-performance benchmarks required here, is key to ‘Aussifying’ our vehicles and ensuring what we develop here translates directly to real-world driving.“LLPG provides me the ability to push vehicle dynamics to the edge, identifying precisely where we can optimise and improve.“We’re not just tweaking cars, we’re transforming them to deliver the confidence, control, and comfort that local drivers deserve.”In a few months GWM will show off Trubiani’s work, currently codenamed ‘AT1’, which will demonstrate ride and handling tweaks from local feedback.The Chinese carmaker will also detail how Trubiani’s expertise is already showing potential at shaping future global programs. This means Australia could form a part in developing GWM cars globally.This latest development follows a very fast cadence of new vehicle launches in Australia recently, as well as a spike in vehicle sales.In the first six months of 2025 GWM has sold a total of 25,189 vehicles, which is up 17.0 per cent year-on-year.Moving forward GWM has already laid out its plan to become a sustained top-five brand in Australia by 2030.

Alfa Romeo is about to start deliveries of its first electric vehicle (EV) in Australia though it expects the hybrid version will outsell it.The Alfa Romeo Junior is the smallest car from the Italian carmaker since the tiny MiTo and Giulietta hatchbacks and locally it’s being offered with both mild-hybrid and all-electric powertrains.“We do foresee … the mild-hybrid is probably going to be the higher mix out of the two,” said Stellantis Australia Product Manager Bridget Thomson to CarsGuide.“ giving the options for people on both stages of their electrification journey. So probably more of the Ibrida (mild-hybrid), but definitely not discounting the Elettrica (electric).”Earlier this month Alfa Romeo confirmed the pricing and specifications for the local Junior line-up.While there are two powertrain options being offered, both are only available in a single, fully-loaded trim level.The Junior Ibrida (mild-hybrid) starts from $45,900 before on-roads costs, while the Junior Elettrica (electric) starts from $57,900 before on-road costs.In Ibrida form, the Junior is powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine running the Miller cycle which is augmented by a 48V mild-hybrid system featuring a 21kW electric motor integrated into the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.Total system outputs are 107kW of power and 230Nm of torque. Alfa Romeo claims it can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 8.9 seconds and the top speed is 206km/h.The Junior Elettrica, on the other hand, is powered by a single, front-mounted electric motor producing 115kW of power and 260Nm of torque.Despite having more power and torque, it’s 0.1 seconds slower to 100km/h than the mild-hybrid version. It takes 9.0 seconds.The electric motor is fed by a 54kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which allows for a claimed 407km of range, according to WLTP testing.The battery pack can be DC fast-charged at rates up to 100kW, which allows for a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.As noted above, the Junior Ibrida and Elettrica are both fully loaded and share the exact same standard specifications.The only differences with the former is it has visible dual exhaust tailpipes and paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The latter also picks up a Mode 3 AC charging cable as standard.Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, matrix LED headlights, the 'Leggenda Scudetto' front grille, LED tail lights, two-tone black roof, hands-free power tailgate, dual 10.25-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, six-speaker sound system, wireless charger, black cloth and synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats, and a six-way power adjustable driver’s seat.The only option beyond premium paint is a sunroof which costs an additional $1990.Alfa Romeo has been experiencing a sales slump in Australia so far in 2025. A total of 282 vehicles were sold in the first six months, down 24.0 per cent year-on-year.

Honda has revealed its latest new offering, a fully electric version of its N-One hatch.The retro-styled N-One has been a regular fixture of Honda’s Japanese domestic line-up since 2012, and the new electric version is designed to be the “Ideal EV for the Japanese market.”The boxy hatch, which is designed to fit into Japan’s strict Kei classification, is equipped with a large enough battery for a 270km driving range to the WLTC procedure, complete with vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-home features.It maintains the combustion version’s retro exterior design (referencing Honda’s original N360 Kei car from the late 1960s) and has a very minimalistic and space-efficient interior design. Honda said the bonnet and the top of the instrument panel are lined up to improve visibility and accentuate the width of the car, while physical buttons and dials are intentionally maintained in the centre of the dash for ease of use.The N-One e’s bumpers are made from recycled materials discarded from other Hondas. In addition, a bio-resin is used for the dash cladding, and various plastics on the interior are made from recycled PET bottles. As a final touch, the floor carpet and insulation is made from recycled clothes sourced from Honda employees.Like other Kei-class vehicles, the exterior dimensions are small but the rear two seats offer enough room to seat adults, and they can also fold completely flush with the boot floor to maximise storage. The N-One e also scores the brand’s signature magic seats, which can fold up to the seat backs to suit taller objects.Full specifications, including elements like motor power, charging speed, and battery capacity  have yet to be revealed, but it would be unsurprising for them to match the related N-Van e which has already launched to the Japanese market.This would mean a 29.6kWh battery pack able to charge at 50kW on DC for a 30 minute charge time, or a 4.5 hour charge time on a 6kW AC connector. The vehicle-to-load or vehicle-to-home mode has a maximum  output of 1500W.The front-mounted electric motor in the N-Van is expected to be shared with the N-One e and produces just 47kW/162Nm. It features a single-pedal driving mode in both models.Sadly, despite it being built in right-hand drive, the N-One e is likely to remain a Japanese domestic market model. Strict safety standards and the cost to comply the cars for the Australian market generally make these models too expensive or otherwise uncompetitive.Mitsubishi recently evaluated bringing its equivalent EV, the eKX to Australia, but it shelved the idea after admitting that it would be “three star ANCAP or less” and that it was likely to cost more than $30,000 once the work had been completed to comply it for our market.Hyundai recently launched a compact electric city car, the Inster, which starts from $39,000, although it offers significantly more driving range, claimed at up to 327km, and has nearly double the electric motor output.BYD is also considering importing its affordable city-sized electric car, the Seagull, which could have a price-tag in the mid-$20k region.Honda is imminently set to announce new model plans for the Australian market, although its footprint has shrunk in recent years. Currently the Japanese brand offers the HR-V small SUV, ZR-V and CR-V mid-sizers, Civic hatch, and Accord sedan.

Nissan has been without an electric vehicle (EV) in its local line-up ever since stock of the outgoing Leaf hatchback dried up, but that’s soon set to change. Five years after it was initially revealed, the Nissan Ariya electric SUV will launch in Australia this September. Orders are now open at Nissan dealers.

Tesla has issued a warning to Australian owners about driving their vehicles through tunnels with the cruise control system activated, warning that it is a “known-limitation” of the model’s Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. The situation came to light most recently through user complaints of phantom braking when the cruise system is active in a tunnel, with a complaint to Tesla eliciting the warning. It is also included in Tesla’s user manual.