Chinese brand Omoda Jaecoo will branch out into the seven-seat SUV market this year by introducing a three-row, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the recently launched Jaecoo J8. Up until now, Omoda Jaecoo has only sold SUVs with two rows of seating – the Jaecoo J7 and J8 and Omoda 9 – but that will change later this year when the Chery-owned brand introduces its rival to popular family haulers including the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Mazda CX-80. “Yes, there are plans,” said Chery Australia chief commercial officer Roy Muñoz. “We are evaluating the J8 Super Hybrid 7-seat…

The Volkswagen Touareg R plug-in hybrid (PHEV) performance SUV is being recalled as a battery defect poses the risk of a fire. “Due to a manufacturing issue, the cell modules installed in the high voltage battery may be defective and overheat during charging. If this occurs, it could lead to a vehicle fire,” the company says in its recall notice. “Until the software is installed, we ask that you request can consumers refrain from charging the high-voltage battery using an external charging source and refrain from driving in electric-only mode. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click…

Hybrid vehicle sales in Australia increased by 15.3 per cent year-on-year in 2025, with a total of 199,133 reaching customers. That was slightly higher growth than posted by electric vehicles (up 13.1 per cent to 103,269 units) but not as steep as the growth of plug-in hybrid sales (up 130.9 per cent to 53,484 units). Chery and KGM launched their first hybrids in 2025, and brands like Hyundai and MG expanded their hybrid lineups. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. This influx of new product helped drive an increase in…

Ford says it will be “deomcratising autonomy” when it launches an eyes-off-the-road self-driving system in 2028 in one of its most affordable vehicles, a new electric ute tipped to be christened Ranchero. Doug Field, Ford’s Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer, made the announcement at this CES in Las Vegas. He said Ford’s Level 3 self-driving tech was developed “for the many, not just a privileged few”. Mr Field claims the automaker is able to put the technology into “vehicles people actually buy” because it developed the software and hardware for the system in-house, making it about 30 per cent…

Volvo’s long-serving XC60 mid-size luxury SUV is still gorgeous to look at and fancy to sit in.  It was launched eight years ago, so a lot has changed during its lifecycle. And while this isn’t the EXACT same car as it was at launch, having received a recent facelift and tech revisions over the last few years, the formula remains the same: luxury, comfort, simplicity, and safety. But with competition rife and the market rapidly changing, does this SUV still make sense? How much does the Volvo XC60 cost? The updated Volvo XC60 lineup has seen some price increases, and…

Tesla has confirmed it has moved to a five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty for all new vehicles delivered from January 1, 2026. The coverage replaces the electric vehicle (EV) brand’s previous four-year, 80,000km warranty, which was among the shortest in the industry, and covers items like the infotainment system, corrosion protection, and exterior paint. Tesla’s battery warranty is unchanged, and closely mirrors the offering of myriad rival brands. It’s eight years or 160,000km in entry-level versions of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV, with the Model 3 Long Range RWD and Performance and the Model Y Long Range AWD…

Australia’s 1,241,037-unit new-vehicle market in 2025 didn’t just deliver a record sales year, it also confirmed a significant shift in where the vehicles Australians are buying are being built. The biggest change over the last decade is the rise of China as a manufacturing source for the Australian market, something plain to see in annual VFACTS sales reports. In 2015, Australia’s total market was 1,155,408 vehicles. Japan was the dominant source country at 335,288 deliveries (29.0 per cent share), Thailand was second on 249,804 (21.6 per cent), and Korea followed with 140,172 (12.1 per cent). China was a fringe contributor,…

Afeela, Sony and Honda’s joint-venture electric vehicle (EV) brand, have unveiled their second model at CES and, as expected, it’s an SUV. Although it’s officially known as the Afeela Prototype 2026, it looks very close to being production ready, although the SUV won’t go on sale in the US until 2028. The company hasn’t disclosed any other details about the car, except to say that it will be more roomy than the Afeela 1 liftback-disguised-as-a-sedan. While the SUV’s exterior doesn’t share any panels with the sedan, the two are clearly penned by the same design team. It’s likely the two…