Technology

Australians are rushing to get their hands on this new car tech, but it might not be the environmental saviour it is claimed to be.Plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs as they are also called, are claimed to be a bridge between conventional petrol and hybrid vehicles and battery-powered electric vehicles.They combine a small petrol engine with a decent-sized battery and an electric motor, which provides some fully electric driving capabilities without the range anxiety of EVs and much lower overall claimed fuel use and CO2 emissions.Australians have bought more than 54,000 of them in the first six months of this year, which is 111 per cent more than in the same period 2025.The problem is they need to be used in a very specific way to achieve their claimsPolestar Australia boss Scott Maynard previously labelled the technology the “worst of both worlds”.“You've got all of the complexity of jamming an electrical drivetrain into an engine bay that's already got a petrol or a diesel engine in it. You're still burning fuel. You've still got to dispose of the whole thing. It's not a green solution.“It's not a clean solution at all, but it's a marketable one,” he said.New research commissioned by the Swiss government has laid bare the issues.A new study funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and conducted by Empa - the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology - showed why fuel use is always higher than claimed.The study pointed to people needing to be very disciplined with charging the car to gain the full advantage, otherwise they pollute significantly more than they claim.Study author Miriam Elser said if the vehicle is not charged regularly then they are just driving a much heavier petrol-powered car.“Due to the additional weight of the battery and electric motor, consumption can even be higher than with a comparable conventional gasoline engine," she said.The smaller petrol engine is also underpowered compared to most other purely petrol-powered cars, which means it needs to work even harder to shift that weight. This is a perfect storm for skyrocketing fuel use.Empa’s laboratory tests examined 12 current plug-in hybrid vehicles across a range of temperatures and driving profiles."This enabled us to distinguish for the first time between the influence of cold weather, heating, and driving style on the electric share and combustion engine operation," said Elser.The results were clear: under real-world conditions the efficiency advantage of plug-in hybrids is largely lost. The study revealed low temperatures, the heating and dynamic driving significantly reduce the electric range. The internal-combustion engine kicks in earlier and more frequently, and fuel consumption as well as CO2 and pollutant emissions increase, in some cases significantly.Elser called for a better balance between battery and engine size and overall vehicle weight.This flies in the face of the huge range of plug-in hybrids coming out of China, which are usually large SUVs with batteries measuring 40kWh or more.  There is also a growing number of plug-in hybrid utes, which are big, heavy and are required to tow and carry a load that would greatly reduce their efficiency.The study does state if used properly they can greatly reduce emissions compared to purely petrol-powered vehicles.

Toyota has warned Australian customers to think about cyber security before they buy their next car.As a new generation of connected cars enter the market capable of recording not just vehicle data but also biometrics, as many are laden with cameras looking both outside and inside, Toyota Australia boss John Pappas said the time has come for buyers to be more conscious of who has their data and where it ends up.“ I think customers should really, really be aware,” Pappas told CarsGuide. “They really need to be aware of their data management. It's like anything when we go and buy anything, these days. We've really got to be aware of how the brand is managing our data.”While not specifically calling out Chinese car brands, Pappas’ comments come at a time when Chinese brands are now amongst the most popular in the country and cyber security experts continue to warn about the potential dangers from China’s national security laws.“ I'm not sure what other brands are doing and that's not for me to comment on, but what's important to Toyota is that we treat the safety... From a safety point of view, we treat software like we treat hardware.”According to Alastair McGibbons, former head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the problem isn't the car makers but rather the differences between data protection in different countries around the world, specifically China.“The trouble is, of course, that by its nature, that connectivity means that you could be taking a whole range of things - audio, visual, location, details from a connected telephone, et cetera - out of the vehicle and into the manufacturer,” McGibbons said.“And that’s particularly problematic for Chinese-headquartered companies because of the national security laws there, right? No one's really suggesting that the companies themselves are problematic, but certainly the national intelligence law in China means that the agencies of the CCP could direct that data be extracted and used by them.”Pappas made it clear the data Toyota takes from Australian-delivered vehicles is stored on data servers based in Australia, however he added there are data back-ups in Singapore and the USA. “This is actually all about protecting our customers from a privacy point-of-view and we consider this paramount to our safety philosophy,” Pappas said.“So we say hardware equals software when it comes to quality and safety for our customers, and that's how we've got very strong governance when it comes to our data. And governing the data and the privacy for the customer.“The only features in the vehicle that are by default when you get onboarded through the dealer are the crash notification, the paramount safety features and the SOS feature. They're really by default activated. When you look across our offering, our connected offerings and things like that and even driving recorder or they're encrypted in the vehicle. So they're not transmitted in any way. So for us we don't know what other brands and other manufacturers do in this space, but for us it's all about making sure that we can protect our customer safety and that includes the data governance.”McGibbons said he hopes Pappas’ comments spark a discussion around creating an Australian standard for data protection, in the same way there are regulations around other vehicle components, in particular safety.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. As the automotive world embraces technology at a rapid rate with autonomous driving, connected cars and electrification, even the biggest names in the business are forced to reinvent themselves. Hyundai, the world’s third largest car brand, has declared that it is no longer simply a car maker but is something more.“ So we are not a normal OEM , “ declared Jose Munoz, global president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “I think by now you've seen that we are more of a tech company that happens to be also an OEM.”Munoz explained why this is more than simply a rebranding exercise to compete with the likes of Tesla and other emerging brands from China that straddle the world of technology and cars, pointing to Hyundai Group’s expansive portfolio of companies.“Because we control, we own, Boston Dynamics,” he said.“We created a lot of companies related to autonomous driving, like 42Dot, Motional. We have made the best deal ever with Waymo on literally tens of thousands of robotaxis that we're gonna produce in the United States and expand it to the world. And we… with local partners like Momenta in China. We got an exclusive supply from NVIDIA… and we also have a fantastic partnership with the state-of-the-art, the number one company in the world, which is Amazon. Not to mention others like Santander, GM, TBS In India, Mubadala in the Middle East, etc.”The deals he is referring to include the robotics company Boston Dynamics, which Hyundai took ownership of in 2020 and specialises in commercially available robots. While 42Dot and Motional are both autonomous driving software companies owned by Hyundai but based in South Korea and the USA, respectively, and Momenta is a Chinese joint-venture in the same space.Hyundai’s deal with Amazon is described as a ‘broad partnership’ that encompasses a variety of deals including online vehicle sales in select markets as well as the integration of Amazon Alexa into Hyundai vehicles and the car maker’s use of Amazon Web Services.This all comes in addition to Hyundai Group’s diverse business interests that include making its own steel, container ships and logistics businesses that can all help with the production and distribution of its cars.“So our group is not a normal group, so we have a lot of companies,” Munoz added.“We won't get into all the details, but you can see we have more than 50 affiliated companies in all areas of the business. So not only vertically integrated and creating the steel, also the distribution with Glovis, with our own advertising with Innocean. But then we are in many other businesses like robots for the factories. And then as mentioned, sales finance, Rotem in the military and other applications.”All this investment in technology is part of a plan to not only ensure the business is ready for what car buyers are interested in, but also make Hyundai appealing to investors and drive the share price up.“So I think the result is fantastic, and obviously, this is being accompanied by the top rating in the world in terms of the financial performance,” Munoz said.It appears to be working, with Hyundai Motor Company’s share price dramatically increasing over the past three years, despite up and down sales numbers - particularly in Australia.

In a collaboration between carmaker BYD and fast food outlet KFC, drivers in China can order takeaway though an embedded app in their vehicle.The initiative between BYD and KFC sees the central media display in a BYD vehicle turn into a large menu for the restaurant, similar to a self ordering touchscreen you'd find in-store.The app locates the closest KFC store, sends the order through and navigates the driver to pick up the food.A journalist writing for Chinese motoring publication Auto Home road-tested the app and highlighted the voice interaction as a strength, but that pulling over and putting the vehicle into “Park” to access the full menu was required for safety reasons.   The embedded ordering app is not the first time BYD and KFC have collaborated. In April this year the businesses announced KFC would offer a BYD vehicle charging service at its restaurant locations.Apart from the tasty opportunity for humans to fill up themselves, the chargers are a draw, too. They are the fastest BYD has ever built, delivering up to 1500kW that can provide up to 2km of range a second. The ultra fast chargers are only compatible with second-generation BYD Blade batteries.In April there were already 5000 KFC outlets hosting BYD's chargers and by December the expectation is for there to be 20,000 locations in operation.The numbers are mind boggling and only highlight the sheer scale of commercialisation in China.As for the tech coming to Australia - there’s no word on that. For now, Aussies will have to order their takeaway the old fashioned way and do it through an app on their phone.    

Ford has just had a huge artificial intelligence (AI) reality check.AI is taking over everywhere, but Ford has just learnt the hard way it’s not here yet.The Blue Oval has performed a serious backtrack in the United States, rehiring many of its engineers than were supposed to be replaced by AI.A report in Bloomberg states the company has rehired more than 300 of its former quality inspectors."Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it's only as good as the information you use to train it," Vice President of Vehicle Hardware Engineering Charles Poon told the media."Over prior years, we didn't pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers that have been with us through many product cycles.”Ford recently introduced 900 AI-powered cameras in its factories to detect quality issues at source, but it appears these haven't worked out as planned."Mistakenly, we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence and ingesting the design requirements that we had, that would produce a high-quality product," Poon said.The rehired staff will improve AI technology and provide mentoring for younger workers.Ford is placing more emphasis on the experience of its engineers to assist in the inevitable AI transition.Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley recently said ‘expensive’ Ford Australia engineering jobs were at risk amid impending vehicle emissions fines.“It's amazing to me that no one notices that Toyota has like 10 engineers in the country, and Ford has got thousands,” Farley said earlier this year.“ needs to decide if they want to help us equalise the cost differential … because this is among the most expensive places to have engineers on the planet.”Ford reported its worst financial performance since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, losing more than $11 billion in the fourth quarter of last financial year.It said electric vehicle asset value depreciation was at the heart of these heavy losses.

When is a car no longer a car?That’s a good question, as you’d initially think that a car needs four wheels, some seats and a steering wheel.Dig deeper and a car may only require three wheels, one seat and perhaps no steering wheel whatsoever. There’s a lot of flux to the definition of a car.The steering wheel point is particularly controversial as if there is no steering wheel, you’re technically not driving anymore and are a passenger. Therefore I’d argue this isn’t necessarily a car anymore and merely a shuttle for transportation.This feeling arose when I experienced Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software for the first time late last year.This was in a Model 3 electric sedan which can be fundamentally defined as a car. It has four wheels, five seats and a steering wheel.You’re also able to drive the Model 3 like a regular car, but with the push of a button it drives itself. Sure, you need to supervise it and take back control if it starts heading in the wrong direction, but for the most part you aren’t touching the steering wheel or pedals.It’s a bizarre sensation handing over all the driving inputs, especially when it can tackle complex scenarios like roundabouts, traffic lights and the infamous hook turns in Melbourne.The technology will likely reach a point where a steering wheel is no longer needed. Tesla is already planning for this with its Cybercab autonomous vehicle.Although production versions of the Cybercab have already started to be produced, they are in small numbers for testing purposes. It’s unclear when they’ll be publicly available for purchase.Tesla is far from the only company developing autonomous driving technology. I was recently a passenger in an autonomously driven Nissan Ariya in Japan. The technology to allow this has been developed in partnership with Wayve, which also has a partnership with Stellantis.Nissan is currently aiming to begin a robotaxi service with these autonomous vehicles in Japan by the end of 2026. It’s also eventually aiming to roll the technology out to customer vehicles as an optional extra.Additionally, Waymo is already operating an autonomous robotaxi service in select cities in the US. There are also plans to introduce it in the UK and Japan.Ultimately the goal with this kind of autonomous or self-driving technology is to have a lounge room on wheels. In some respects we are already there.In the era of software-defined vehicles, many cars now revolve around the central touchscreen multimedia system and the experience they provide. Arguably for some carmakers there is more emphasis on this and the actual driving experience is secondary.In some respects this is warranted as in electric vehicles (EVs) you may be spending your time in the car while it’s charging at a public charger but at the end of the day it’s a car, not a lounge room.Going back to Tesla, the main interface in its current vehicle line-up is the central touchscreen. It dominates the dashboard and you’re required to use it to adjust virtually function.There are also so many novelty and convenience features that span beyond the driving experience. Think of the games you can play while you’re parked, the light show and the comical fart noises you can get the car to play.The list goes on and for many carmakers, especially newer Chinese ones, it seems like a heavier focus is being put on features like this, or services relating to the touchscreen, than the overall driving experience.As a result, it feels like some cars are more glorified iPads with flashy lights on wheels.I know that many people can’t function without technology now and in many respects it’s critical to many areas of cars, particularly safety, however at the end of the day a car is meant to be driven.It would be lovely to see a renewed interest in how a car actually is to drive compared to how flashy and cool its technology is. I’d argue this is wishful thinking though, especially given autonomous vehicles appear closer on the horizon every day.

JD Power, the US-based industry analytics and consumer research specialist, has released its 2026 Initial Quality Study, a much-anticipated (and often feared) annual report looking at the way cars are built and how they operate.And despite a “sharp rise” in overall vehicle quality, this year’s study has highlighted connectivity as a significant stumbling block for manufacturers and consumers.As its name implies, the Initial Quality Study is based on responses from purchasers and lessees of new vehicles (this year 78,514 people) surveyed after 90 days of ownership.The quality audit is split into eight market segments and covers 10 categories - Multimedia, Features, controls & displays, Exterior, Interior, Driving assistance, Seats, Powertrain, Driving experience, Climate and Unspecified (unclassified gripes). Issues are rated according to Problems Per 100 vehicles (PP100).In 2026, fewer problems were cited across nine of the 10 categories, with Multimedia the exception, where “connectivity issues continue to strain customer experience with new-vehicle quality.”Introducing the report, JD Power Senior Director of Auto Benchmarking Frank Hanley said, “As more technology is introduced into vehicles, keeping the experience simple matters more than ever.“The biggest gains in quality come from features that are easy to use - simple controls, less-intrusive driver assistance and software that works the way customers expect.“When technology becomes too complicated, the likelihood of customers experiencing a problem rises considerably,” he said.The total number of reported problems with new vehicles improved to 175 PP100, down from 192 PP100 in 2025, which JD Power said is the best year-on-year improvement since 1997 and the fourth-best performance in the 40-year history of the survey.But Multimedia saw an increase of 1.4 PP100 in reported problems - typically issues with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity and touchscreen displays - for a total of 44.4 PP100 across mass market segments and 38.3 PP100 in the premium groupings.Porsche was the highest-ranking brand overall with an initial quality score of 138 PP100, ahead of Genesis (151 PP100) and Lexus (156 PP100).Toyota Motor Corporation’s Kyushu 1 plant in Japan, which manufactures the Lexus NX and Lexus UX, received the Platinum Plant Quality Award which is based on detected defects and malfunctions.

Chinese brand Leapmotor says buttons are on the verge of an in-car comeback as China’s army of automotive manufacturers further tailor their vehicles for international tastes.That’s the word from Frederik Dallmeyer, Lead Exterior Designer at Leapmotor International, who says customer tastes are causing a rethink on featureless cabins in which all functions are controlled through a central screen.Leapmotor has already begun launching work-arounds, in which shortcuts take a driver straight to the most important functions, like changing the wing-mirror position, but says the next generation of vehicles could feature a return to toggles and switches."I can't be concrete about it. (But) if the tastes of the market dictate that buttons are a must-have, then yes, but let’s see,” he says.“My personal preference is that I like to also have quick access to things. So yeah, I think that’s something that will be worked on.”Asked when Leapmotor vehicles could return to easy-access functionality in its cabins, the designer replied: “I think it’s the next generation.”It has long been thought that the Chinese domestic market’s preference for screen-heavy interior would effectively strong-arm the rest of the world into adopting the same cabin layouts, given the size of China’s export market. The country is now the biggest country of origin for vehicles sold in Australia, with as many as one in three vehicles sold here made in China, depending on the month.But Mr Dallmeyer suggested that wasn’t necessarily the case, with the designer not ruling out individual cabin treatments for domestic and global markets, while also suggesting Chinese tastes could be changing.“I think that depends a little bit on how things were to evolve in China because China is always a very quickly evolving market,” he said.“Tastes change, preferences change. Maybe it’s not necessary, like if more physical functions are also appreciated in that market.”

It might feel like V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) functionality for electric vehicles has been ‘coming soon’ to Australia since the dawn of time but the technology looks like it’s finally close to local introduction with Hyundai using its Ioniq 9 pure-electric SUV for a groundbreaking standards-compliant demonstration.V2G is a bi-directional charging system that allows an EV to supply stored energy to a home during blackout emergencies or monetise its export to the electrical grid during peak periods.The company said it has completed Australia’s first V2G discharge, doing so in compliance with the relevant ISO (International Organization for Standardisation) 15118-20 protocol, using a StarCharge Halo 7.4kW bi-directional DC charger.This comes as the federally-funded Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is pushing EV (electric vehicle) infrastructure development, including large-scale V2G trials. Hyundai said, “This Milestone supports HMCA's commitment to manufacturer-approved, standards-compliant V2G deployment” adding the StarCharge Halo received Clean Energy Council (CEC) listing in March 2026 and is AS/NZS 4777.2 compliant.Like other EV models already on sale in Australia, the Hyundai Ioniq 9’s 800-volt electric architecture allows fast, high-power DC charging and bi-directional energy flows. Australia adopted national V2G and V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) standards in 2024 and ARENA forecasts up to 2.6 million Australian homes could adopt V2G by 2040.But testing, alignment and approval of regulations and hardware (including vehicles) as well as establishing grid standards and gaining network approvals has proved to be a lengthy process. Hyundai said it is “helping establish a standards-based pathway for scalable, manufacturer-supported V2G and V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) deployment across homes, buildings, energy networks and virtual power plants.”Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO Don Romano added, “This (V2G discharge) is the result of sustained technical work by Hyundai's R&D teams in Korea and Australia. “Getting this right is essential because V2G will only scale in Australia if consumers, energy providers and governments can trust the technology."Electric cars can do far more than just drive. They can power homes and support the grid. “This first V2G discharge using ISO 15118-20 with the IONIQ 9 demonstrates that we are delivering real innovation, not just talking about it," he said.Hyundai models under evaluation or development for V2G in Australia include the Ioniq 9, Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 as well as future Ioniq platforms. Mitsubishi has also been working on V2G capability for some time for its Outlander plug-in hybrid, which has taken part in earlier trials for the technology in South Australia.

China is taking the electric vehicle charging conundrum head-on, and it could change EVs in Australia forever.Popular Chinese carmaker Xiaomi is prepping a ground-breaking new battery charging technology expected to arrive this year.The brand’s home charging robotic arm is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 as the newest innovation in EV infrastructure. It will introduce an autonomous process for owners charging their vehicles at home. The car needs to be parked in position, and the system will do the rest.A robotic arm will insert the charging plug into the car and will automatically disconnect it once the battery reaches a pre-set level of charge or is fully charged. Charging can be initiated remotely using a smartphone app if the vehicle is parked within the robotic arm’s reach. Charging and charging infrastructure remain key roadblocks to mass uptake of EVs globally. Automated charging could be a game-changer, further diversifying ways to charge and improving the convenience of a process much maligned for its inconvenience. We won't see Xiaomi's technology in Australia any time soon, however.Xiaomi has not confirmed Australia as one of its future priority markets yet, as it's expected to first take on Europe.It’s not just Xiaomi that's pushed on with automated charging plans. Several other Chinese brands have shown interest in the technology. Li Auto is said to be actively testing its own auto charging robot, according to CarNews China, while Aito and EV charging infrastructure company Star Charge have also been working on systems. This technology remains a while away from Australia, with China often pioneering such initiatives before pushing it out globally. For example, BYD’s Flash megawatt charging was first introduced extensively in China, but is now due in Australia before the end of this year. Developments such as fast and automated charging are crucial to establishing a stable and reliable EV infrastructure Down Under. The latest sales data showed EV uptake is increasing rapidly in Australia, but charging infrastructure is not keeping pace. “As the number of EVs on the road continues to grow, charging infrastructure must become more of a priority. Continued investment and enabling policy settings will be essential to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with consumer adoption,” Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Tony Weber said.“Charging infrastructure rollout must accelerate if Australia is to maintain consumer confidence and support continued uptake.”