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Nissan’s last great hope of reversing a long-term sales decline in Australia has finally been unveiled in the form of the D27-series of Navara.

Nissan and Australia’s Premcar are again collaborating on a Warrior version of the Navara – and this time everything steps up. Unveiled on the same night that the all-new D27 Navara series made its global debut in Adelaide as the Warrior Concept, the off-road flagship that is one of the few bright spots in the company’s floundering fortunes is now important enough to get equal top billing with Nissan’s crucial international mid-sized ute.

The MG S6 EV has gone on sale in the United Kingdom giving us a clear look at the SUV ahead of its arrival in Australia.

A new budget SUV has hit the Aussie new car market. The GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) Emzoom steps into the competitive compact SUV battleground as a five-seater, starting from $25,590, before on-road costs.It's powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine sending 125kW and 270Nm to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.It has a combined cycle fuel efficiency figure of 5.4L/100km, along with 47-litre fuel tank capacity. The car gets some neat features as standard including a panoramic sunroof and powered liftgate.Other interior features include a 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen and 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, while also offering 50-watt wireless device charging. There is plenty of other useful tech on board, with a 360-degree camera view, automatic parking functionality and lane keep assist. It will have to take on several big hitters in pursuit of sales but comes in significantly cheaper than the likes of the Toyota Corolla Cross, which starts from $37,440, before on-road costs. It is also cheaper than the strong-selling Hyundai Kona and is similarly priced to the MG ZS. That pair combined for nearly 30 per cent of local small SUV sales in October. The Emzoom is one of three GAC models in the brand's Aussie launch. The Aion V joins as an all-electric mid-size SUV, starting from $42,590, before on-road costs. Its single electric motor pumps out 150kW and 210Nm to the front wheels, while its 75.26kWh battery delivers a WLTP range of 510km. DC fast charging from 10-80 per cent takes 24 minutes, while AC charging time from 0-100 per cent takes over eight hours. The Aion V will need to hunt down Geely’s EX5 that's had a bumper first year in Australia, achieving more than 3000 sales so far in 2025. GAC’s third offering is the premium M8 plug-in hybrid people mover, which is a seven-seater starting from $76,590, before on-road costs. GAC claims the combined range of this people mover, in a space traditionally dominated by internal combustion engines, is more than 1000km.This impressive range is in part due to its 25.57kWh battery that can charge from 0-80 per cent in half an hour. Its set-up includes a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and dual electric motors, which produce 274kW/630Nm.The M8 will have to take on the imposing force of the Kia Carnival in the people mover segment, that accounted for nearly 86 per cent of sales in October 2025. 

Nissan North America may call it a “bold design with premium touches” but even casual observers of the global car business will pick the new Nissan Rogue Plug-in Hybrid as essentially a rebadged version of Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV.Set for a formal debut at this month’s LA Auto Show (November 21-30) and a possible preview of Nissan's approach to its upcoming Mitsubishi Triton-based Navara ute, the ‘new’ mid-sizer is little changed from its corporate cousin save for small tweaks to the upper grille, some minor massaging of the tailgate and a black-out treatment for exterior elements including the lower grille, rear diffuser panel and wheel-arch fenders.Positioned as “an important step in Nissan's electrification roadmap” the Rogue PHEV is powered by the same twin electric motors, 20kWh lithium-ion battery pack and 2.4-litre petrol engine as the Outlander.According to the USA EPA standard the Rogue offers a 61km EV-only driving (against a claim of 84km for the Outlander in Australia) with claimed overall range at 676km.But combined power outputs are identical to the Aussie-spec Outlander at 185kW/450Nm, the powertrain seamlessly switching between pure-electric power, internal combustion drive and a combination of the two.The 2026 Nissan Rogue is offered in SL and Platinum grades with standard features including 20-inch dark-painted wheels, all-LED exterior lighting, soft-touch materials throughout the cabin and acoustically (laminated) front door glass with (available) leather-appointed seats, door illumination and aluminium interior highlight trims on the top-grade model. That said, early reports out of the US have noted the Rogue’s interior is as per the 2025 model year Outlander PHEV with a 9.0-inch media touchscreen and nine-speaker Bose sound, rather than the MY26 version which incorporates a 12.3-inch multimedia screen and updated 12-speaker Yamaha audio.CarsGuide contacted Nissan Australia to determine if the new Rogue (due to hit US showrooms in early 2026) is a candidate for inclusion in the brand’s local line-up and a spokesperson told us Nissan does not comment on future product plans.

This new budget-friendly Chinese SUV could spell big trouble for Tesla.

A family SUV has picked up a big boost soon after its Aussie release. The Geely Starray EM-i has received a serious upgrade in China less than three months after the older version launched in Australia, according to CarNews China. The updates in China has seen its EV-only range boosted to 200km in the top-of-the-range variant, according to the very generous CLTC testing system.The current Starray can travel up to 83km thanks to its 18.4kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.It keeps the 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine from the current version and pairs it with an upgraded electric motor that makes a combined 175kW, up from 160kW.This increased power could result in a slight improvement on the 8.0 seconds for the current car’s 0-100km/h sprint. Fuel efficiency for the current model sits at a combined total of 2.4L/100km (WLTP), and this is unlikely to change with the new variant. The Starray gets a bigger 15.4-inch multimedia screen and a 10.2-inch digital driver display, with a six-speaker audio system. The announcement comes after the car’s release in Australia in September of this year.Aussie versions of the car starts from $37,490, before on-road costs, which is a little cheaper than the all-electric EX5, starting at $40,990. It is priced competitively with its rivals, such as the Chery Tiggo 7 Urban and BYD Sealion 6 Essential.More than 500 examples of the Starray have been sold in Australia in just a few months, which represents a solid start when compared to other brands.Another of its rivals, Leapmotor’s C10, comes in hybrid and all-electric guise and has only mustered 509 sales since its March 2025 launch. Starray and EX5 combined sales are approaching 4000 in roughly the same period. Geely when contacted for comment were not willing to confirm whether the updated Starray variant will makes its way to Australia.

Hyundai might have just let slip its big new secret.

GAC has launched its Aion i60 Toyota RAV4 fighter in China giving those of us watching from Australia a better look at the mid-sized SUV, which might make its way Down Under.Aion is a sub-brand of GAC and the i60 is RAV4 sized at 4685mm long and even has more than a passing resemblance to the popular Toyota SUV and it’s available not only as a hybrid but as a full EV as well.Details of the two powertrains have been revealed with the fully electric i60 equipped with a 75kWh battery with a range of up to 650km (CLTC), while the hybrid combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor offering up to an impressive 1240km in travel distance.Pricing for the i60 begins at A$24,000 for the entry grade i60 in China.The Aion V has similar styling inside and out to the Aion V, which has just launched in Australia. Both SUVs are five seaters and have the same wheelbase, but the i60 is a longer SUV overall and offers more boot space.The i60 will be available in six colours including Warm Velet Gold, Galaxy Blue and Holographic Silver.Whether the i60 makes it to Australia is uncertain. GAC has only recently arrived in Australia but has already announced several models cherry picked from its various sub-brands to go on sale locally. These include the Aion V, the M8 people mover and its Emzoom small SUV.The Aion i60 is just another model the gigantic GAC may choose next for an Australian launch.GAC’s arrival in Australia comes later than many other Chinese brands such as Geely, Zeekr, Leapmotor, BYD and Xpeng, but the company’s size and battery making ability could make it hard to beat.

Nissan has become the latest car manufacturer to announce a new focus on hybrid vehicles with the company’s global boss declaring a “full blast” of new models to come.Speaking to industry publication Automotive News at Nissan's headquarters in Japan last week the company's CEO Ivan Espinosa said that while sales have been flat a host of new products are about to be launched. “Next year we should be in a position to grow our sales,” Espinosa told Automotive News.“The fact that we have these new product lines coming in and having a full blast next year is definitely something that’s going to help.”Espinosa said Hybrid variants would be offered across Nissan’s range including the possibility of a V6 hybrid. “We should see offers in the C segment (medium sized vehicles), in the D segment (large), and likely in the B (small) segment. We see the hybridisation accelerating very quickly,”Espinoza also announced that Nissan’s production facilities in the United States will continue to operate due to the new tariffs and regulations overseas carmakers now face. Nissan has three plants in the US, which make the X-Trail and Pathfinder SUVs and others. “It will not make a lot of sense to stop a plant in the US when you have tariffs,” Espinosa said.Nissan has been struggling with profitability and closing the US plants was a possible way to cut costs but those plans appear to be on hold now and in a fortunate turn of events the factories have become advantageous to the company.  “What could have been seen as a problem 18 months ago, is now a strength that we have because of the presence and the capability that we have,” he said. “It’s a good position to be in.”Nissan has faced major financial difficulties in recent years. In May this year Nissan posted a loss of A$7B for 2025. The shortfall prompted the company to undergo an emergency restructure with potentially 11,000 job cuts and the closure of plants.Espinsosa became Nissan’s CEO in April 2025 and is faced with the considerable challenge to turn the company’s fortunes around and that may see joint ventures with other car makers. Only last week Espinosa announced he was looking at the co-development of engines with Honda.In Australia, Nissan has two hybrid vehicles already on sale —  X-Trail e-Power and Qashqai e-Power. Subaru also recently announced a focus on hybrid vehicles and a step back from its massive electric vehicle plans.