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Ford is beefing up its 4WD range.

Skoda Australia has added the finishing touch to its new, second-generation Kodiaq line-up with confirmed pricing and specification for the RS performance flagship version of the large, seven-seat SUV.

China’s new car brand onslaught continues.New brand Lepas has been confirmed to arrive in Australia in 2026.Lepas is part of Chery’s sprawling sub-brand portfolio, and promises to be more edgy than Chery’s existing brands, which include Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda.Chery Australia boss Lucas Harris said, “Australian SUV buyers have had practicality covered for years. What they’ve been missing is personality. Lepas delivers both.”Lepas was launched in China at the Shanghai motor show in May this year.Lepas displayed its first vehicle, the L8, which is earmarked for Australia in 2026.It is built on the same platform as several of Chery’s other SUVs, including the Chery Tiggo 8, Jaecoo J7 and Omoda 7.The L8 is a mid-size five-seat SUV, which measures 4688mm long, 1860mm and 1695mm tall with a 2800mm wheelbase.Lepas also has two smaller SUVs, the L4 and L6, which are the twins of the Chery Tiggo 4 and Tiggo 7.The L8 will have the same mechanical set-up as many of the other Chery vehicles, but will feature different styling and interior fit-out to help it stand out from its stablemates.Chery Australia hasn’t confirmed details yet, but it is in line for petrol and plug-in hybrid power. Full electric power is a strong possibility down the line, too.Chery’s plug-in hybrid set-up uses a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor to make a combined 255kW/525Nm. A circa-18kWh Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP) battery delivers a driving range of up to 93km on the more lenient NEDC test cycle.Chery will reveal full details of Lepas closer to the brand’s official launch in 2026.

The Mitsubishi Pajero will go into production in December 2026 and will be built in Thailand — already the manufacturing home of the Mitsubishi Triton, and other dual-cab utes like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max — according to new reports out of the Phillipines.That's the word from The Daily Tribune, which is reporting that the "Desert King" will be built alongside the Triton before being shipped to its on-sale markets.The move would all but lock the Pajero in for sale in Australia, given our Mitsubishi Triton is built there in right-hand drive, and also suggests the model will adopt a ladder-frame chassis, one it shares with Mitsubishi's workhorse ute.It would also lend credibility to reports that the reborn Pajero will hark back to its rugged roots, rather than take a more on-road focussed approach.In fact, reports out of Japan have already pointed to the Triton and Pajero sharing a platform, with Best Car Web making the claim earlier this year.According to the same site, the Pajero won't borrow from the Y63 Patrol, and will instead forge its own ute-based path. That would likely mean sharing the Triton's diesel powertrain – a twin-turbo-diesel 2.4-litre that produces 150kW and 470Nm. But reports suggest the new model will be future-proofed, with a mid-term plan to fit Mitsubishi's next-generation petrol plug-in hybrid technology.It would still be a large SUV, though, measuring a reported 5100mm in length, 1930mm in width and 1815mm in height.According to Best Car, Mitsubishi would target a starting price in its domestic market of around 6.5m Yen, or $67,000 AUD. A similar pricing strategy in Australia would see it significantly undercut the cheapest LC300 ($96k) and Y62 Nissan Patrol ($95k)."I have put up my hand and said we would love to have one because it's a very valuable nameplate, because it is a fantastic product, because it's a halo product," Mitsubishi Australia boss, Shaun Westcott has previously told CarsGuide."For all of the above reasons, we would love to have one here.“I cannot tell you what it is, what it looks like, what the powertrain is, whether there’s a ladder frame, whether there’s monocoque. I cannot give you any of that information other than to say that Mitsubishi has announced that we are working on a large SUV."

Australians love diesel-powered vehicles, but according to Toyota, it isn’t a fuel source of the future.

Last month Honda Australia reopened orders for the supply-limited Civic Type R hot hatch and the entire allocation was exhausted within an hour.

While the Toyota Corolla has sailed over 13,000 year-to-date sales (end-August) and its nearest small car rivals, the Hyundai i30 and Mazda3 both sit above the 7000 unit mark, the Skoda Scala is yet to hit triple figures and the Czech brand’s local boss has confirmed it is “under investigation” in terms of a continued presence in the Australian market.Only 97 examples of the wagon-style hatchback have found homes here so far this year, which is down 63 per cent on the same period in 2024.And when asked if the model was under review Skoda Australia Director Lucie Kuhn recently told CarsGuide, “We are right now analysing the product.“It’s actually a very good product. I would say it’s a nice car, very practical for daily usage but the car has limited sales. “It is very interesting, I would say, for rental car companies, but for private users they go in the direction of Kamiq when they make a choice.“So, it’s currently under investigation what we will do with the product. But for now it’s still with us,“ she said.The Scala review comes at a pivotal time for Skoda in Australia, with YTD sales just over 22 per cent down compared to the same period in 2024, which was itself 29 per cent behind 2023 numbers.But Ms Kuhn points to an inflow of new product which she believes will right the ship and have sales increasing strongly within the next 12 months.“In the last two years the product portfolio was coming to the end of its life. And at the beginning of this year we started the change of the portfolio and selling out the older cars. “(We are) now in the middle of our work where we finally manage to sell out the old-generation cars and we are on-boarding the new ones that are currently available.“We have everything new, all new, plus electric which is a completely new area where we haven’t been so active before,” she said. As well as a relatively low profile, comparative pricing may be playing a part in the Skoda Scala’s sales performance. Starting at $33,990 drive-away for the 1.0-litre Select, rising to $45,990 D/A for the 1.5L Monte Carlo, pricing is some way ahead of the dominant segment players.The Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla ranges include sub-$30K base models (before on-road costs), but when asked if Skoda might execute a smaller volume, higher profit margin strategy in similar fashion to Honda and Mazda, Kuhn is emphatic.“We started eight months ago where we actually wanted to make our portfolio more affordable to more customers. “So, rather than more top versions like RS, we extended the range. That’s why we have the Select range. We also have the packages which are between Sportline and Select.“The portfolio is more affordable for the customers than it used to be in the past,” she said.

Hyundai is joining the ute arms race.The South Korean brand has confirmed it will build a ute to rival the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux before 2030.The company confirmed it would be fit for purpose with rugged ladder frame underpinnings, which supports all the other four-wheel drive utes.Hyundai is expected to use the expertise gained from sister brand Kia’s new Tasman dual-cab ute, which launched in Australia this year.Hyundai’s workhorse is likely to forgo the Tasman’s diesel-power and focus on petrol, hybrid or plug-in hybrid grunt.New Hyundai Australia boss Don Romano told CarsGuide recently, "Australia doesn't need another diesel ute".Instead, petrol, petrol-hybrid or plug-in hybrid options are being explored."I think we have to look at options. And I can't tell you whether that's a PHEV, a HEV or a BEV, but I think those are options that have to be considered. And I think those are the areas that will give us an opportunity for expansion," he said.This will give Hyundai a genuine competitor to the Ford Ranger PHEV and the instant hit BYD Shark 6.BYD’s Shark 6 makes a combined 321kW and 650Nm and can sprint to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.7 seconds.Ford’s new Ranger PHEV makes 207kW and 697Nm from its petrol-electric combo. The Ranger also has a 3500kg towing capacity compared to the Shark 6’s pedestrian 2500kg.Any Hyundai PHEV ute will need to match or better these two market leaders if it wants to stand a chance.A plug-in hybrid or hybrid is more likely to give the Tasman some breathing room, so it doesn’t have to compete with its own corporate cousin.It also points to the Hyundai ute being more focused on North America and other global markets where petrol is preferred over diesel.Strengthening the vehicle’s North American bent is Hyundai has confirmed it will co-develop the ute with General Motors.US Outlet Car and Driver claimed Hyundai’s global boss Jose Munoz said the ute would spawn a rugged off-roader.This would give Hyundai an answer to the popular Toyota Prado and Ford Everest.Kia has also been linked to a tough 4WD based on its Tasman ute.Kia hasn’t confirmed the vehicle but said it is a possibility, but it needed to make sure the Tasman was a success before it spawned any other variants or vehicles.

Australians have a "strange love" for big wheels and option packs, according to Audi executives - and Ingolstadt is taking notice.

What feature of your car annoys you the most? I’ll go first. Our eight-year old Skoda locks itself after about 30 seconds. Sounds good, but it isn't. It’s led to all manner of annoying moments, but locking itself while the keys were inside the car probably wins — don’t ask.