Technology

BYD's next-gen charging system has been spotted rolling out in China.

Tesla has announced its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology in Australia will move to a subscription-only service from April 2026. Buyers were previously able to purchase the technology for a one-off price of $10,100 or pay $149 per month. It is a Level 2 advanced driver assist system, which can navigate its way to the chosen destination. It is available on Tesla Model 3 or Model Y examples equipped with a Hardware 3 or 4 camera.The brand has confirmed the monthly subscription cost will remain the same for the time being. As with most subscriptions services, such as Netflix, there is a strong possibility for incremental increases on a regular basis.The initial pricing of the Model 3 and the Model Y has not changed despite the shift to a subscription model. The Model 3 starts in Australia from $54,900, before on-road costs, while the Model Y has a starting price of $58,900. Both cars were among Australia’s best-selling electric cars, with the Model Y topping the charts at more than 22,000 sales. Buyers will not be able to outright purchase the technology from the 31st of March 2026, so vehicles will have to be ordered by that date to be eligible for it. Existing owners of eligible vehicles will be able to outright purchase the technology via the Tesla app until the 31st of March as an upgrade post purchase. Tesla’s transfer promotions on the system will also no longer be offered from April of this year. This promotion allowed for owners of existing Tesla's with the FSD or Enhanced Auto Pilot to transfer it onto a new model without additional cost. The announcement confirms Australia will follow Tesla in the US, which ceased the outright purchase of the technology in mid-February of this year. The technology made headlines when it was released in Australia towards the end of last year as the first right-hand drive market to receive it.The move to a subscription-only service for FSD (supervised) is one of several big moves the car maker has made in recent times. Tesla announced in late January that it was cutting production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV in the middle of this year. This is to make way for production of Optimus robots in the same factory. 

BYD is the latest brand to get in on the solid-state battery scene, with small-batch production to get underway in 2027, according to reports.This latest development puts BYD back in the race against Chinese rival Chery that has also recently announced solid-state technology. The Chery Exeed Liefeng shooting brake will feature a battery offering a potential driving range of 1500km, with an energy density of 600Wh per kilogram.This will launch after the Exeed ES8 shooting brake, which will be Chery’s first solid-state model, with a driving range of 1000km. We do not know which BYD vehicles will be fitted with this solid-state technology or its real-world potential yet.It is expected BYD’s technology will differ from Chery’s as it will use sulfide electrolytes as opposed to oxide-based chemistry. This different set-up could be a more practical route to commercial viability for solid-state technology as it is claimed to be easier to manufacture and provides benefits such as faster and safer energy transfer that could result in faster charging and lower fire risk. BYD’s solid-state powered vehicles will only be available in a small batch next year, which suggests there are no plans yet for the technology to enter full-scale production at this stage.Solid-state batteries have been gaining traction with car makers in China, but other big-name manufacturers in Europe and North America have been slower to get behind them. General Motors has highlighted its scepticism for solid-state, preferring investment in silicon graphite batteries, while Ford views it as a ‘possible future technology’.Mercedes-Benz unveiled a prototype solid-state powered version of its EQS sedan in September 2025, which travelled 1205km on a single charge. Full integration of this technology remains several years away, with full market integration unlikely to occur until the 2030s if it continues to gather steam in the EV space. 

Have you ever felt like things are spiralling out of control lately? That horrible feeling that you know something is wrong and people are standing idly by and allowing it to happen regardless?I have increasingly felt that way about new car safety, so much so I feel the time has come to draw a line in the sand.Let me be clear from the beginning — safety should be everyone’s top priority in the car industry. Whether it’s engineers, designers, salespeople and even us motoring writers - we should all be doing our best to ensure that you (the new car buyer) get the safest car possible.However, in recent years I have started to feel that new car safety has not only stopped improving consistently, but has actually begun to regress. Why? The over-reliance on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and the seemingly inconsistent way it is applied to new vehicles and equally inconsistent ways cars with poor technology are applauded by third parties and hailed as superior.I am fortunate enough to drive dozens of new cars every year and increasingly the difference between good active safety systems and bad ones are becoming more and more apparent, frankly annoying and distracting.The systems I’m talking about are ones like ‘driver attention monitoring’, ‘speed limit recognition’, ‘active lane keeping assistance’ and similar. Good versions of these systems keep you alert, informed and safe. Bad versions of these systems are distracting to the point of dangerous.That’s because, unfortunately, for many brands adding these active safety systems became a box ticking exercise, simply having them was enough as they weren’t tested in the real world by safety authorities, even though brands were punished for not having them.As Peter Matkin, Chery’s Director of International Engineering for International Programs, told me last year, many of these systems are developed by third-party suppliers who are simply working to a theoretical range and aren’t practically applying it to real-world situations.“When we started with all of the ADAS work, we were effectively just meeting legislation,” Matkins conceded. “We told the suppliers, this is the legal requirement, we need to meet this. So from a supplier perspective, he doesn't care whether the car bounces between the lanes. He doesn't care. When I drive the car, I say, ‘this is shit, we're not selling this.’ So, you know, we now give a lot more targets now, to the supplier.”That’s a refreshingly honest answer from a car company engineer and it’s good to know that people like Matkin are working to ensure that systems actually work for customers on the road and not just on a piece of paper.Recently I drove a new vehicle that beeped incessantly, any time the speed limit changed or if I didn’t slow down fast enough, or even if I just looked away. Literally, on several occasions it beeped to warn me that I was ‘mildly distracted’ at which point I looked down to see what the beeping was about (in case it was something dangerous) only for the system to then beep again and tell me I was ‘moderately distracted’ — by the car’s own beeps! The end result of poorly calibrated ADAS is drivers will find a way to turn it off, which unfortunately tends to be required every time you start the car - which is a deliberate requirement from legislators that typically travel in the back seats, rather than the driver’s seat…What’s the difference between a car that doesn’t have active lane keeping and one that does, but has such a bad system the driver turns it off every time they start the car? Both cars operate the majority of the time without the system, so a sub-standard system is effectively useless. ANCAP, to its credit, has updated its testing protocols for 2026 to try and address some of these issues. Its testing will now try and provide a more detailed analysis of how the various active safety systems work and encourage more seamless operation.Because, make no mistake, properly calibrated ADAS can work and when it does it’s brilliant. Some brands are clearly spending more time on these systems than others, and the net result is a safer experience for the driver without any of the irritating distraction of endless beeps and warnings.Unfortunately, the recent rush to ensure all these systems were installed regardless of functionality means there will be a generation of dangerous distracting cars on our roads for the foreseeable future.

Carmakers could soon be handing interiors back to the driver in a win for the good guys.A recent interview with Audi's new creative boss Massimo Frascella by Top Gear magazine gave a hint of the future of car interiors."Tactility is very important. Big screens are not the best experience. It's technology for the sake of technology. For us, technology is there when you need it, not there when not needed,” he said“It's not about taking things out, it's just offering the technology and the functionality in a way that's beneficial for the customer. And is premium.”Modern cars - including some Audis — are a mass of screens that run the length of the dashboard or are stacked in the centre dash. Front and rear passenger screens have also risen to prominence.Audi’s recent Concept C show car previews a cabin where the screen is no longer a dominant feature, with only a small one in front of the driver to show the car’s vitals.The concept also prioritised high-end materials and expert precision in the fit and finish.Audi might not be doing this out of the goodness of its own heart, but has read the tea leaves with regulators planning a crackdown on distracting items in cars.Euro NCAP, which is the continent’s crash test and safety authority, is going to push for car brands to keep physical controls for basic functions.According to a report from The Times, NCAP plans to implement test requirements that would encourage cars to have five key functions accessible as easy physical buttons or controls: the horn, indicators, windscreen wipers, hazard lights and a call for SOS.ANCAP — the Australian version of Euro NCAP — will enforce these measures in Australia."In line with our next planned step-change in protocols being introduced from 2026, ANCAP will discourage manufacturers from locating key vehicle controls such as indicators, hazard lights, horn and windscreen wipers within touchscreens,” said ANCAP boss Carla Hoorweg."Physical buttons or stalks to operate these key vehicle controls will be encouraged through scoring, with manufacturers awarded points for the prioritisation of physical controls."Tesla led the charge by moving nearly all functions within the central screen, such as gear selection, mirror and seat adjustment and to turn on the wipers or open the glove box.Tesla isn’t alone, with many Chinese brands that are software-focused following a similar route.It’s not just the removal of screens either, now carmakers are planning on returning physical buttons and dials to dashboards.Volkswagen — which is the parent company of Audi — has been panned for the removal of most physical buttons in cars but it is bringing them back.It showed of its new ID.Polo electric hatchback with a wide array of physical controls.The automotive world is pushing back on going fully digital and will blend the best of both worlds.

A self-charging Nissan Ariya concept has just been unveiled in the United Kingdom, with the in-built solar system capable of delivering up to 23km of range per day in ideal conditions.The car features a set of 3.8cm² solar photovoltaic panels on the bonnet, roof and tailgate, which converts sunlight into DC power. The panels were provided by a Dutch solar company called Lightyear, that worked on the first-ever solar-powered production car in 2019.Nissan said the technology can reduce charging frequency by up to 65 per cent.Solar technology allows for the car to be charged as it drives along, unlike conventional infrastructure. According to Nissan, a two-hour, 80km drive can produce 0.5kWh of charge, which adds up to nearly three kilometres of driving range.  Solar charging on cars poses practical challenges for manufacturers, needing to fit big enough panels to provide sufficient charge on a small surface area.Nissan notes the effectiveness of this solar charging is impacted by sun exposure available where the car is being driven.Dubai, for example, has high solar exposure, meaning the vehicle can generate an average of 21km of daily solar driving range, while in London that drops to 10km a day. Australia could benefit from solar charging, given its climate and the current electric vehicle charging infrastructure available. Australia has one of the highest solar exposure rates in the world, so it would offer some of the best conditions for this technology. It could ease the burden of EV charging infrastructure Down Under, with electric vehicles numbers ever-increasing, but chargers popping up at a slower rate. At this stage, Nissan’s new technology is only a concept, with just one example built so far. It also remains to be seen whether this type of charging can be offered at an affordable cost point and charge at a sufficiently effective rate. Other companies have been dabbling in solar charging cars in recent years.The Lightyear One was unveiled as the first-ever solar-powered car six years ago in the Netherlands, with its set-up offering 12km of range each hour in optimum conditions. The current Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid sold in the United States is available with an optional solar panel, which can add several kilometres of range each day. 

Autonomous driving in Australia is already here… sort of. But it should arrive in full by 2027.Most new cars offer some form of self-driving functionality, such as lane keep assist or adaptive cruise control.Tesla unveiled its 'Full Self-Driving (Supervised)' system late last year.Supervised is the key word because autonomous driving is not legal in Australia.According to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, automated vehicles (AVs) can only operate in Australia under state or territory trial frameworks. There are currently no large-scale trials on Australian roads. Maybe not large-scale, but there are trials.A driverless bus taking passengers to and from the Darwin Waterfront was tried in 2017 and deemed "successful".There are also automated trucks working on mine sites in the north-west of Western Australia. So what is it going to take to see autonomous driving cars on our roads?Whose laws matter?Our driving laws are generally state-based. Your speeding fines go to the state you are in, not the Federal Government.Consequently, some inconsistencies exist between various state driving rules, notably fine amounts.Mostly though, driving laws are formed on the same basis: the Australian Road Rules.These are updated every couple of years, so in theory AVs rules could be slipped in, right? That is the plan according to Executive Leader, Regulatory Reform and Emerging Technologies at the National Transport Commission (NTC) Aaron de Rozario. The NTC has been commissioned to put together a regulatory system before we have AVs on the road.“We’ve got all the Australian governments involved in the process of deciding ‘yes, these are the road rules that apply to an automated driving scenario’,” de Rozario said. The NTC puts together these road rules and all transport ministers will vote on whether to approve, before implementing into respective state laws.A key proposal currently put forward from the NTC is to have a ‘Commonwealth in-service regulator’.The regular will aim to fuse federal and state responsibility on AVs.One of its main tasks will be due diligence on new AV technologies coming into Australia to determine whether safe operation can be demonstrated. Once AV technologies enter Australia, the regulator will investigate issues and complaints about programming and incidents concerning AVs. Who is responsible? AVs on Australian roads raise issues with the establishment of causation of accidents. The NTC will target clear distinctions on responsibility between drivers/passengers and the automated driving system. Some of those distinctions are simply resolved such as wearing a seatbelt. That responsibility rests with those travelling in the car. The complexity is apparent when considering post-accident liability. How to overcome these issues remains murky, with hard-and-fast solutions still some way off.“There is a bit of work determining what happens if there is a motor vehicle accident,” de Rozario said.“Drivers have certain legal responsibilities to take action and we need to work out what happens in the case of an automated vehicle and whether there are any responsibilities for passengers.”One solution being proposed is to clearly specify where and on which roads certain types of AVs can be used safely, and legally.Something that has been made clear is companies will not be able to escape responsibility for their AVs.Providers of automated driving systems will have to have a registered corporate presence in Australia.“We’re deliberately setting this up so there isn’t a ‘Sorry I’m overseas. I don’t need to comply with your law’.”This mandate facilitates the full application of the national corporations legislation onto directors of AV companies, giving authorities powers to enforce findings and decisions.It would include enforcement of duty of care and diligence principles, including criminal punishment for dishonest and reckless conduct. At this stage, AV conversations remain in a preliminary phase, with the ATC targeting 2027 for a system framework.Tesla’s latest technology represents a window into the future of AVs. But you should not expect to see someone reading a newspaper as their personally-owned car drives them to work in the morning anytime soon.The government says the framework "will enable conditional deployment of automated vehicles in select locations".Automated taxi systems remain the most likely to come to Australia first. “From what we see overseas, the two areas which are likely to be the first movers would be the robo-taxi model or an urban taxi rideshare service,” de Rozario said.“The other one that keeps coming up is freight and that could be parcel delivery type services.”

In early 2024 Volkswagen Australia announced it had been developing an innovative accessory to prevent collisions between vehicles and kangaroos.

BMW is working on a rival to Tesla’s Full Self Driving mode, but the company is in no rush to roll it out before it’s ready.

Earlier this month the New South Wales government announced a near $6 million investment in EV charging across regional communities.