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Australia is getting short changed on some of the world’s cheapest electric cars.High fuel prices are pushing people who never would have looked twice at an EV to consider the zero-emissions tech, but Australia is missing out on some of the most affordable electric cars.China is rife with circa-$10,000 electric cars that provide decent driving range and fast charging in a small and cheap package.The latest model to launch in China is Wuling’s next-generation Hongguang Mini EV, which is priced the equivalent of about $9000.It is a mini four-seater that has a claimed driving range of more than 300km — calculated on the more generous Chinese test cycle — thanks to a super low energy consumption of 8.9kWh per 100km.DC fast charging allows you to top the battery up to 80 per cent in about half an hour.It is very little, measuring 3268mm long, 1520mm wide, 1575mm tall and has a wheelbase — the distance between the front and rear wheels — of 2190mm.That put its in Japanese 'Kei Car' (city car) territory, and its single electric motor makes only 30kW.The Hongguang Mini EV isn’t alone, there is a booming market in China for this type of vehicle.The QQ Domi from Chery was revealed last year.It is a pint-sized electric hatchback measuring just 3.7m long and 1.7m wide, which is just bigger than a Kia Picanto but smaller than a Suzuki Swift.Its nearest EV competitor would be the larger BYD Atto 1, which is called Seagull in other markets.In China it launched at the equivalent of about $13,000. Chinese cars are usually 20 per cent more expensive here than the home market, which would mean it could lob in at about $16,000.Chery’s QQ3 is another budget friendly EV, which is priced to the equivalent of $14,000.It has a circa 300km driving range, and is much bigger than the Wuling. There is a choice of either a 58kW and 90kW electric motor.Chery has been testing one of its QQ models Down Under as part of its global development.The Chinese brand’s Australian Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris is very interested in something from that range.“I think having a very small and then a small hatchback would be a game changer,” said Harris.“I think there’s a huge amount of potential in those segments, and at the moment I think those segments are a little bit stale and not that interesting.“So if we could bring something like the QQ, I think it’d be a huge amount of opportunity,” he said.There is one thing standing in the way of these tiny cheap electric cars… Australian Design Rules (ADRs).Mitsubishi recently considered its little eK X EV Kei Car for Australia but it wouldn’t meet safety regulations and it would be too expensive to bring it up to scratch with ADRs."The reality is that the car meets Japanese safety regulations. The reality is that it does not meet ANCAP five star, and will not meet ANCAP five star. We'd probably get three stars," said former Mitsubishi's Australian CEO Shaun Westcott back in 2024.The Hongguang Mini EV only has two airbags and electronic stability control in its safety arsenal, which doesn’t cut the mustard here.It also lacks side impact protection, which means it won’t meet ADRs. This same rule forced Lexus to axe the IS sedan and Nissan to discontinue the GT-R.

It might so far only be known for a single dual-cab ute, but Chinese brand JAC has big plans for Australia, recruiting the dynamics engineer behind models like the VE and VF Commodore to prep its vehicles for local conditions.Michael Barber, now of Multimatic but formerly of Holden, has been tasked with tuning the model's next ute, the T9 Hunter plug-in hybrid, for sale in Australia, but the project will likely balloon from there, with JAC confirming a host of new vehicles on the cards for Australia. "There's a huge range, including trucks. There are passenger cars. There are small electric vehicles, which we're also considering," says Ahmed Mahmoud, Managing Director of JAC Motors Australia."We can access the majority of those. We just need to make sure they're fit for purpose, five-star ANCAP, all of those things."They're the requirements of the average Australian. You can't just bring junk into the country, right? "If you're going to bring something in, you've got to make sure that it fits the brand and what we're trying to do. But it's also not going to be ripped apart from an ANCAP or a driving perspective."Next to arrive for the brand will be a Ford Everest-style ute-based SUV that rides on the T9 platform, though it's unclear whether it will take the diesel powertrain or the new and potent plug-in hybrid system. It is expected to arrive within the next 12 months.Beyond that, the brand says "we have options for small passenger cars and SUVs in that hybrid or full electric space".Top of the list would surely be the JS6 PHEV - a mid-size SUV that pairs a to deliver a 120km all-EV driving range, and a total 1150kms on a tank of fuel and a charged battery. A bigger JS8 SUV offers three-rows of seating.Also on the table is the smaller E30X city EV, a direct rival to models like the BYD Atto 2 and GWM Ora. With a Holden flavour to the ride and handling, and a growing product portfolio, it makes JAC the latest Chinese brand to lean on local expertise to produce fit-for-purpose vehicles in our market."(Barber) is contracted to do a lot of the testing," Mr Mahmoud says.

The future for this standout small car doesn't look so promising.Skoda Australia director Lucie Kuhn admitted sales of the Scala are not enough to keep the Mazda3 rival in stock. In 2025 Skoda Australia sold just 249 Scala, which ironically was more than the Superb (199) but well-short of even the second worst-selling small car, the out-going Kia Cerato, which still managed to find 1094 buyers. The overall small car market was down more than 20 per cent.Instead, the Scala is now an ‘order only’ option for customers and dealers who really want one of the small cars, with Kuhn admitting its long-term future is uncertain. “ Scala is currently a model that we are running some analysis on it,” she said. “Because you are exactly right, the segment is very small here in Australia. We will probably keep the car going, probably just being available in a factory order. Just because you might always have customers that might be interested in having the car, but the volume is relatively small, I would say.”Skoda is committing to another slow seller, though.Where once the mighty Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon fought for sales supremacy, now a single, unlikely, survivor remains. And it has no plans on giving up the fight.The Skoda Superb is the only ‘large car under $70,000’ still on sale in 2026. Even the medium sedan segment is a shadow of its former glory days, with the Skoda Octavia competing against the Toyota Camry, BYD Seal, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord.But Skoda has no plans to give up on its sedans and wagons anytime soon. Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the new plug-in hybrid Kodiaq SUV, Kuhn said the brand remains committed to its sedans and wagons.“I  think this is something that the customers say,” Kuhn said. “The market is obviously going in more and more in the direction of SUVs year-by-year, this share is growing. But if you have a look in the car parks or on the streets, you still see plenty of sedans and plenty of wagons. So this is where we feel and see our opportunity that, in spite of the new car sales trend is growing and getting more into the SUV direction, there is still a massive car park of the sedan and wagon drivers. And this, we feel is an opportunity because as you said, we are one of the best brands who offer this kind of choice.”Skoda is so determined to give Australian buyers who shun SUVs choice so much so that it will actually expand the Superb line-up in 2026. The Czech brand is adding the new Select plug-in hybrid (PHEV) wagon variant alongside the existing Sportline sedan and wagon.This new option shares the same 110kW/350Nm PHEV powertrain as the Kodiaq and will be priced from $66,990 drive-away.

Fuel prices are soaring across the board whether it is petrol or diesel. Some drivers are being more affected than others as lower fuel efficiency contributes to higher refuelling costs. Here are the most expensive cars to run currently in Australia based on fuel efficiency. Other contributing factors to the high fuel costs on this list include the fact many of the cars have big fuel tanks and require premium fuel.Fuel prices have been calculated using the average prices for fuel in New South Wales and at an average of 15,000km driven per year. Among the heaviest guzzlers is the Nissan Patrol four-wheel drive, with its 5.6-litre V8 drinking fuel at a rate of 14.4L/100km. Its 140-litre fuel tank and requirement for premium unleaded petrol means it costs $364 per fill-up and a total yearly cost of $5617.28. The Patrol will move to a more efficient 3.5-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol, which is expected to reduce fuel costs. The Ford Mustang sports car is another V8 on this list, with its 5.0-litre unit registering average fuel efficiency at 13.6L/100km and a yearly cost of $5310.27.Ford’s other representative is the Ranger Raptor high-end ute, powered by a twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine costing $4482.76 per year. The Ineos Grenadier off-roader is the most expensive model to run and costs $5618.50 a year to run, in part due to it being diesel, which has been the fuel type that has increased the most. The Lexus GX550 has refuelling costs of $208 per fill-up currently, costing $4800 for the year, along with nearly $3000 for the Jeep Gladiator, which unlike many on this list can run off E10 fuel.The 6.2-litre petrol V8 found in the Chevrolet Silverado full-size pick-up has an economy of more than 12 litres per 100km, costing $4,356.30 over the year.  Genesis’ GV70 luxury SUV costs more $4400 per year in fuel, a similar figure to the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 variants of the Land Rover Defender. Highest fuel efficiency new vehicles on sale under $150,000 

Brand loyalty is being increasingly eroded according to exclusive data in Gumtree Group’s The Next Gear: Australia in Motion report.In a survey of prospective buyers looking at hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, just three per cent had an exact model in mind and only nine per cent had a preference on brand.The data shows 38 per cent of respondents said they were open to a variety of car options or were undecided, while 25 per cent knew the type of car they wanted, but had no preference on the brand. The data was generated from a survey of nearly 4400 people who visited Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader in 2025.The erosion of brand loyalty has been in part brought on by the significant influx of new players entering the Australian market, with aggressive price-points.This trend has continued into 2026. Already this year, BYD’s luxury sub-brand Denza launched with its B5 and B8 SUVs, while several other brands, including Chery’s sub-brand Lepas are not too far away. These new players will add to the already-diverse list of manufacturers with cars on sale Down Under, with some of those shaking up the established pack. The likes of BYD and Chery, with extensive electric and hybrid options, have made huge strides in the Aussie market at the expense of brands such as Mitsubishi and Subaru.The latest sales data also revealed Chinese manufacturers overtook Japanese manufacturers Down Under for the first time in February 2026.It is a similar story when looking at the best-selling brands, with both Toyota and Mazda experiencing sizeable drops in sales month-to-month, while BYD, GWM and Chery all saw big increases. There are signs now that Chinese brands are beginning to snatch more sales from each other in Australia, with LDV and MG losing out to rivals.The same goes for established brand GWM, which for the first time was overtaken by BYD in the sales charts for Australia last month.Hybrid choices continue to grow in popularity, but petrol sales remain dominant for now. As brands continue to favour hybrid over petrol in their line-ups thanks in no small part to Australia's new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES), the electrified shift with accelerate. Many brands like Toyota have shifted entire product portfolios to hybrid-only, while others are expected to follow suit before long as regulations bite toward the end of the decade.

Fuel prices in Australia are soaring, meaning fuel efficiency in vehicles is a more important consideration than ever. Hybrid cars offer the potential for superior fuel efficiency compared to internal combustion power without the big price premium if fully electric or plug-in hybrid options. This makes them an increasingly attractive option for buyers given the current global climate. Hybrid sales are already booming in Australia, but will increases in fuel prices accelerate the shift away from pure internal combustion cars? NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said that while hybrid sales are increasing, an even swifter transition is less than clear. “If you’re driving a standard vehicle with a 55-litre tank, compared to what we were paying before the war began to now, it’s a $45 increase on one tank of petrol. That applies regardless of whether it’s hybrid or petrol,” Khoury said. “Historically speaking, looking at what happens after an oil shock, it certainly opens up their consideration. “No doubt that if this crisis continues and these prices hang around for weeks or months, Australians will look at those alternatives more seriously.” Below is a comparison between popular petrol and hybrid choices in each segment to see how they stack up in a changing fuel context. Fuel cost has been calculated using current data from the New South Wales’ government’s average fuel price for unleaded 95 petrol and diesel. Toyota’s Corolla hybrid hatch offers superior fuel efficiency and driving range compared to the Kia K4 petrol model. The Corolla is also cheaper to fill up with fuel thanks to its smaller tank and offers a substantially bigger driving range. The Kia Seltos is a petrol-only variant, but despite its bigger fuel tank, it has less driving range than the Toyota Corolla Cross, courtesy of the hybrid powertrain. The bigger fuel tank means the Seltos is also more expensive to fill up. The mid-size CX-5 has a non-turbo charged petrol engine, which sees it offer an impressive estimated driving range of more than 800km, but once again the Toyota competitor’s fuel efficiency wins out in the RAV4 hybrid. The Toyota Kluger continues the Japanese juggernaut’s fuel efficient theme, with a hybrid set-up offering a driving range of more than 1122km, which is significantly more than the MQ QS, despite both cars costing a similar amount to fill up at the bowser. Utes are some of the worst affected by the fuel price increase as many of them are powered using diesel engines, with diesel fuel rising more than petrol. It has now risen to well beyond the $2.60 mark per litre. The BYD Shark’s plug-in hybrid set-up uses petrol, which makes it an affordable option, given the price of diesel. It should be noted that the Shark 6’s fuel efficiency is significantly reduced when the battery is not charged. It’s a similar story for the GWM Cannon Alpha, which should be noted is no longer on sale, but remains one of limited plug-less hybrid utes in Australia. 

Chery’s QQ3 budget hatch EV has been given a sharp price overseas ahead of its potential Australian launch as another budget EV hatchback battler.The Toyota Corolla-sized QQ3 is priced from 68,920 yuan in China, which converts to around A$14,000. While cars imported from China carry a significant price increase, it would still fall around the $20,000 mark in Australia when the usual additional costs added. This is similar pricing to the BYD Atto 1 in Australia, which has a starting price of $23,990, before on-road costs. However, it is more likely Australia would get the pricier long range version of the car, which has 420km of range as opposed to 310km, according to more lenient CLTC.This would give it a closer range to its rivals, which have around 350-400km real-world capacity. This variant of the car would more likely sit closer to the $30K bracket, in a similar price region to the GWM Ora and MG4. It could also line-up as a competitor to the incoming GAC Aion UT in an emerging Chinese electric hatchback battleground, which will start from $31,990 (before on-roads).The QQ3 would probably need a more powerful electric motor set-up than the 58kW and 90kW currently on offer in China if it launches in Australia. Its current set-up is underpowered compared to many of its rivals, such as the Aion UT, GWM Ora and MG4, which all have at least 125kW of power as standard. When CarsGuide contacted Chery Australia about the car late last month, the brand said it could not confirm whether the QQ3 is destined to launch Down Under. However, local Chief Operating officer Lucas Harris has previously said the brand is eager to bring an electric hatchback to Australia, making special mention of the QQ lineup, so it may not be too far away.Chery is continuing to grow its presence in Australia, and finished in the top 10 best-selling brands for February 2026.Chery’s only all-electric offering in Australia currently is the E5 compact SUV.

A combination of increasing component costs, ever-higher safety and emissions requirements as well as the need for new-generation tech to match fast-moving competitors has driven the domestic entry price for Toyota’s Corolla close to 60 per cent higher over the last decade.According to data from the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) as originally reported by Nikkei Asia the price of an entry-grade Corolla sat at ¥2.28 million yen (~$20,600) in 2025, up from ¥1.45 million (~$16,100*) in 2015. *Based on an average 2015 Yen/AUD exchange rate.For reference, in Australia a base Toyota Corolla Ascent auto cost $21,790, before on-road costs, in 2015. And in 2025 the entry-level Corolla Ascent Sport was $29,610, BOC, an increase of just over 35 per cent.As the statistical arm of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the SBJ not only manages the country’s population census but tracks thousands of day-to-day consumer costs - from school fees and railway fares to baby clothes and soy sauce.A range of factors, including inflationary pressure driving up component supplier costs, increased standard safety requirements and tightening fuel economy and emissions legislation has driven the price rise.In recent years, emerging global competitors, particularly from China, have also placed greater emphasis on driver assist tech and multimedia functions driving the need for additional cameras, radars, microchips and more.Over the same 2015-2025 period, average Japanese worker income increased around 10 per cent and in early 2024 the Bank of Japan’s policy interest rate rose for the first time since 2007 and has been gradually rising since).Much of Japan’s car finance business is underpinned by residual loans (similar to a finance lease) at low interest rates and the rising cost of money is pushing car ownership out of reach for many potential buyers.SBJ data show even ‘kei’ city cars, the production of which is shaped by government incentives to provide low-price, fuel- and space-efficient new vehicle options to help keep the population mobile and the domestic car manufacturing business humming, have risen steeply in price.Specifically, 33 per cent from an average entry-price of ¥1.18 million yen in 2015 to 1.76 million yen (~$15,900) in 2025.And in heavily built-up areas car-sharing is an increasingly popular kei car alternative; a contributor to Japanese domestic market new-vehicle sales being down 10 per cent in 2025 compared to 2015.Evolving tastes have impacted relative pricing as Japanese consumers lean more towards full-size SUVs and people movers than compact cars.Prices of ‘Compact Passenger Cars’ increased 31 per cent to ¥2.39 million (~$21,500), while ‘Full-sized Passenger Cars’ rose 24 per cent to ¥3.72 million (~$33,500).At the same time, sales of full-sized passenger vehicles were up 30 per cent in 2025 compared to 2015, while compact passenger cars softened by 40 per cent.

It’s no secret Toyota wants to revive the Celica nameplate. Now, thanks to a Portuguese rally fan, the new Celica is no longer a secret at all.

Chery has officially unveiled its QQ3 small electric hatchback in China.Chery Australia could not yet confirm whether the QQ3 was destined for Australia, but we know the brand is keen on the prospect. Local Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris has already signalled his desire for an electric hatchback to launch Down Under.“I think having a very small and then a small hatchback would be a game changer,” Harris said.“I think there’s a huge amount of potential in those segments, and at the moment I think those segments are a little bit stale and not that interesting.“So if we could bring something like the QQ, I think it’d be a huge amount of opportunity.”The QQ3 sits as a rival to other small budget EVs, which in Australia, would be fellow Chinese competitors such as the BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG4 - all sitting around the $30k price bracket. Expect Chery's hatch to sit in a similar price bracket, if not even more affordable, if it comes to Australia with it being positioned generally as a budget EV. It would likely need more power than its entry-level 58kW output from its single rear-mounted electric motor as debuted in China to be competitive in our market. There is also a 90kW set-up, but that also seems a touch under-powered compared to rivals.Its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery options offer a driving range of either 280km or 401km, but that is calculated using the lenient CLTC testing cycle. More-accurate-to-real-world WLTP numbers are often noticeably less than that.On the inside, the car has a 15.6-inch central touchscreen and dual 50W wireless phone chargers. It will also be able to be optioned with heated and ventilated seats, as well as a heated steering wheel, following in the footsteps of other Chery models which offer high spec at a low entry price.The car gets the typical QQ bubble exterior design, with a segmented, round front and rear headlight design that houses diagonal strips. It rides on 17-inch wheels.Deliveries on the new QQ3 are scheduled to begin next month in its Chinese home market. Expect to learn more about Chery's range expansion as it follows up on the much-anticipated launch of its first dual-cab with a unique diesel hybrid powertrain later this year.