Motor shows

What's the most expensive car in the world? Well, we often think of the latest hypercars as the pinnacle of automobiles, and the manufacturers have turned to releasing eye-wateringly expensive limited-editions like the Koenigsegg Trevita ($6.7 million). However, modern cars don't hold a candle to classics when it comes to the most expensive car ever sold.

Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) has confirmed plans to launch a range of electric and hybrid vehicles in Australia by 2025. The announcement follows last year’s promise that Chinese state-owned GAC’s Aion electric car brand would reach our shores, with AGA Auto Australia now named as official importer of all GAC products.GAC and Aion’s Australian model portfolio is a long way from being finalised, however, an as-yet unseen Corolla-sized electric car has been all-but confirmed as has the new Model Y-sized Aion V. A GS8 hybrid large SUV and M8 people mover are also likely. The second generation Aion V was revealed at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show measuring 4.6 metres long. Powertrain and interior details are yet to be confirmed but the bluff medium SUV should pack around 450-600km driving range, 400-volt electrics with either LFP or NMC batteries which will eventually be made in-house. The unnamed, unseen, Corolla-sized electric hatch will be key for Aion to battle the MG4 and the BYD Dolphin in Australia. Like the Aion V, details are unconfirmed. Moving away from EVs, GAC makes Toyotas in China including the Camry, Kluger, Corolla and previous-gen C-HR under a long-standing joint venture. GAC also constructs its own line of vehicles sold under the Trumpchi brand, some of which use Toyota hybrid technology.The mooted-for-Australia GS8 is a Hyundai Palisade-sized seven-seat SUV sold in China with a fourth-gen Toyota hybrid system with e-CVT hooked up to the brand’s own 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder. It develops 174kW/391Nm, or 10kW shy of a similarly-sized Toyota Kluger hybrid AWD. The GS8’s fuel consumption is rated at 5.8L/100km under the more generous NEDC protocol. The Toyota hybrid system may not make it to Australian GS8s, though, owing to potential conflicts with the Big T selling hybrid tech locally in direct rivals. Aion Australia Chief Operating Officer Charles Lau admitted that the importer was yet to address this issue. Lucky then that GAC has its own ‘Mega Wave’ hybrid system. The brand doesn’t say so, but it has surely been influenced by Toyota’s approach. It also offers a plug-in hybrid ES9 version of the seven-seat larger SUV. The Toyota Alphard-like M8 people mover is also under study as one of the first models for the Australian market. GAC’s More exotic Hyper range could arrive further in the future but there are no immediate plans. The three models sold at home use 800-volt architecture and promise some wild charging statistics – at China’s 480kW DC pylons the GT performance sedan promises to rejuvenate 450km driving range (WLTC) in as little as 10 minutes. The Hyper SSR super car, meanwhile, boasts a 0-100km/h sprint of just 1.9 seconds and 880kW. Aion’s halo model costs the equivalent of A$260,000 in China, so the Corvette E-Ray rival is a serious piece of kit. When it comes to branding, much like GWM’s Haval and Ora brands, GAC will keep its lines separate. The Aion electric cars will wear distinct badging to the Trumpchi/GAC hybrid products though will likely coexist in sales spaces. Mr Lau also told CarsGuide that, although there’s been no mention yet, a ute is something that AGA Auto would jump at for Australia. Discussing sales models, Mr Lau said traditional dealer franchise, direct-to-consumer – like Tesla and Genesis – and agency models, as Mercedes-Benz and Honda offer, are all under consideration.“The one that stands out, realistically, to us is the agency/dealer hybrid model”, said Mr Lau. “We want to build a brand that is here to be sustainable more than – in crude terms – flog off as many cars as we can and no more.”The ability to carry spare parts and control the consumer process better was one of the benefits. Not unlike BYD’s model with MyCar service centres and Ineos’ Bosch relationship, CarsGuide understands that GAC will look to partner with other service providers to improve coverage. Australia will form the next step in GAC’s global expansion after the brand has begun reaching into select Middle Eastern, European, South American and African markets. Unlike Chery, BYD or MG which are imported by factory-owned operations, GAC and Aion will be imported by independent AGA Auto. The company has no track record of vehicle importing in Australia, starting life in 2002 as an inbound tour travel agency greeting guests from China. Later in the 2010s, the company entered the automotive market in China running several dealers that shift combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles. Mr Lau said this gave the company unique insight having “been at the forefront of current price wars in China.”The importer has been quiet on exact arrival timing but noted that Australian Design Rules (ADRs) can be tricky to navigate for new players. Mr Lau Indicatied that getting the product right for the market would come before announcing a final launch date. Australian suspension tuning – something that’s been so popular for Hyundai and Kia – is on the cards too. There was no mention of ADAS localisation, but other brands’ roll outs have proven this is important, if not more so, than chassis tuning for our market. Further details of GAC and Aion’s Australian launch and product portfolio will be revealed closer to the brand’s launch in 2025.

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The motor show is dying. Even before the global pandemic shut down these events for several years, the spark had gone out as car makers invested less and less in these once extravagant expos.

Toyota has unveiled two new electric vehicles at this week’s Auto Shanghai, the bZ Sport Crossover and bZ FlexSpace, with the aim of bringing them to full production and sale in the Chinese market in 2024.

Codenamed B07, and likely to be called Haval Dragon MAX in China, GWM’s new-generation medium SUV has made its global debut at this year’s Auto Shanghai motor show (April 18–27).

GWM's Tank 500 looks to be China's answer to the LandCruiser 300 Series, although it has just one petrol V6 drivetrain for now.

Some love it, some not so much. Either way, the Nissan Z’s simple, rectangular grille opening is a clear tip-of-the-hat to the original 240Z that continues to influence this now iconic sports car line more than half a century after its ground-breaking 1969 launch.

Suzuki has revealed a new model for its 2023 lineup in India, the Fronx, which could eventually come to Australia in place of the discontinued Baleno.

The 2023 Ford F-150 truck is undergoing local development with Ford Australia engineers ahead of its launch here next year.Two variants of the F-150, the XLT and Lariat, will be available in Australia and sold through Ford officially without a third party