Automotive news

• 2025 Mazda BT-50 SP now undercuts D-Max X-Terrain twin after Isuzu price rise

  23-04-2025 23:00 via drive.com.au
  The national drive-away price of the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain ute has increased – along with the X-Rider and Blade – while the cost of its Mazda BT-50 SP twin remains unchanged.Isuzu Ute Australia has increased the national drive-away price of its D-Max X-Terrain ute – along with the X-Rider and Blade – with its mechanically-identical Mazda BT-50 SP twin now undercutting the model it’s based on.The national drive-away cost of the 2025 Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain ute has incr
  
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• Every electric car under $50K on sale in Australia in 2025

  23-04-2025 22:00 via drive.com.au
  Want to make the move to electric without breaking the bank? Here’s a list of every electric car under $50K currently available in Australia.Though Australian new car sales have shown a greater appetite for hybrid cars in recent months, electric vehicles also reached record numbers despite a global cooldown.Between January and December 2024, 91,292 battery-powered SUVs, as well as passenger and light-commercial vehicles, found their way into garages across Australia – representing a
  
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• 2026 JAC T9 Hunter PHEV to stalk BYD Shark 6

  23-04-2025 22:00 via drive.com.au
  JAC believes it can emulate the success of the BYD Shark 6 with its T9 Hunter PHEV, despite the end of plug-in tax breaks.Chinese ute brand JAC believes it can emulate the success of the BYD Shark 6 with the 2026 T9 Hunter PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), even with the removal of the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption for hybrids now scrapped.The FBT exemption applied to customers acquiring a PHEV under the luxury car tax (LCT) on a novated lease, and meant a monthly payment on a plug-in
  
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• The luxury car brand from Japan you’ve probably forgotten about

  23-04-2025 21:00 via drive.com.au
  Mazda gambled big in the early 1990s with its Eunos luxury sub-brand. Just four years later, Eunos was dead and Mazda was on the brink of extinction.Original story first published in Drive on 21 April, 1996.Eunos, the Mazda luxury division, is beating an elite retreat in Australia.After six years trying to establish its own identity through a stand-alone chain of 11 dealers, Eunos cars will now be sold through the mother brand’s 138-strong national dealer network. All Eunos models are engi
  
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• Win a classic 1974 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop 429 Stroker

  23-04-2025 20:00 via drive.com.au
  Offering the chance to drive off in a beautifully restored 1974 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop 429 Stroker, Classics for a Cause can put you behind the wheel of this muscle car while helping support Aussie war veterans in need. 
  Sponsored by Classics for a CauseFord XB Falcon Coupes are classic Australian muscle cars – first hitting the roads back in the early 1970s. They’re also icons of the silver screen, as Mad Max’s ride of choice through the post-apocalyptic wastelands. 
  
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• GWM reveals its first twin-turbo V8, destined for Tank 4WDs – and may come to Australia

  23-04-2025 13:23 via drive.com.au
  Mourning the demise of the V8 Patrol and LandCruiser? China is here to help, debuting a new twin-turbo 4.0-litre destined for future 4WDs and luxury cars.Chinese car giant GWM has announced plans for its first V8 engine, destined to power future Tank 4WDs – and a new range of super-luxury cars – matched with plug-in hybrid technology.In development for a number of years, the new GWM V8 will displace 4.0 litres – and carry twin turbochargers – in what the brand describes a
  
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• LDV to clash with ACCC in court for alleged vehicle rust of T60 ute and G10 van

  23-04-2025 08:56 via drive.com.au
  Advertisements of the LDV T60 and G10 were allegedly misleading to consumers, claims the ACCC, due to the model’s supposed high propensity for rust and corrosion.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will pursue legal action against LDV Automotive Australia for allegedly misleading consumers on the “durability” of the T60 ute and G10 van.According to the ACCC release, both models were depicted in advertisements that implied the LDV models “were durable
  
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• 2026 Mazda CX-6e interior, specs revealed: New Tesla Model Y rival shown in China as EZ-60

  23-04-2025 08:55 via drive.com.au
  The rear-wheel-drive Mazda EZ-60 electric and range-extender hybrid mid-size SUV has debuted in full in Shanghai ahead of a likely global launch as the CX-6e.Mazda’s rival to the electric Tesla Model Y and plug-in hybrid BYD Sealion 6 mid-size SUVs has debuted in China ahead of its likely global launch.The 2026 Mazda EZ-60 is a close relation to the Mazda EZ-6 sedan revealed 12 months ago, with both vehicles manufactured in China and co-developed with its Changan Automobile joint-venture p
  
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• 2026 MG CyberX concept revealed as preview to rugged electric SUV

  23-04-2025 07:54 via drive.com.au
  MG’s electric SUV concept with Land Rover-like styling has been revealed, but it is likely a while away from Australian showrooms if it lands locally at all.The MG CyberX concept has been officially revealed at the 2025 Shanghai motor show – one of a swathe of new MG models due in China in the next two years – but a production version is still sometime off appearing in Australian showrooms.The CyberX concept is the second MG introduced under its youth-oriented Cyber brand after
  
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• Audi’s AUDI reveals first model, the MG IM6-twinning E5 Sportback electric car

  23-04-2025 05:20 via drive.com.au
  Sharing its underpinnings with an MG model, the AUDI E5 Sportback is tasked with winning back the hearts and minds of Chinese consumers.Audi’s Chinese sub-brand AUDI has lifted the silk on its first model, the sleek E5 Sportback electric car, as it aims to regain a strong footing in the world’s largest car market.With premium brand sales in China tumbling due to home-grown competition from the likes of Zeekr, Yangwang, and others, Audi’s new move to catch the eye of Chinese buy
  
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• 2026 Lexus ES revealed with electric and hybrid power, confirmed for Australia

  23-04-2025 05:17 via drive.com.au
  The Lexus ES luxury sedan has entered its eighth generation with familiar hybrid power or, for the first time in its 35-year history, electric powertrains.The 2026 Lexus ES luxury sedan has debuted in China with electric power for the first time in its 35-year history, along with a familiar hybrid powertrain.Australian showroom arrivals are due sometime in 2026, with the battery-electric version confirmed to join the Lexus UX300e and Lexus RZ electric SUVs in the brand’s local line-up.The
  
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• Toyota expands electric car line-up with bZ7 large sedan

  23-04-2025 04:59 via drive.com.au
  Toyota has leaned on Chinese partner GAC to develop a production-ready version of the bZ7 sedan, rivalling the likes of the BYD Han.Toyota has officially revealed a new addition to its burgeoning bZ electric vehicle range, with the electric bZ7 passenger car set to take on the likes of the Tesla Model S and Chinese rivals such as the BYD Han.Making its debut at the 2025 Shanghai motor show, the showroom-ready 2025 Toyota bZ7 is the product of Toyota’s joint-venture with one of its Chinese
  
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• Nissan reveals rival to BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute

  23-04-2025 04:53 via drive.com.au
  A new wave of plug-in hybrid utes from China is set to be challenged by a Japanese brand, with help from Nissan’s Chinese division.Nissan has revealed its 300kW rival to plug-in hybrid utes from BYD and GWM, the Frontier Pro, at the Shanghai motor show.And the new ute has been confirmed for sale in “selected global markets within a year”, opening the possibility of an Australian launch.The Frontier Pro is a rebranded version of the Z9, a new Ford Ranger-sized petrol and diesel
  
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• Tesla profit plummets, Musk vows to devote more time to EV firm

  23-04-2025 04:37 via abc.net.au
  
  Tesla boss Elon Musk will cut back on his commitment to the Trump administration's DOGE and recommit to the carmaker, in a move cheered by investors after what analysts have called a "disaster" result.
  
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• Tesla investors cheer 'beginning of the end' of Musk’s White House stint

  23-04-2025 04:37 via abc.net.au
  
  Tesla boss Elon Musk will cut back on his commitment to the Trump administration's DOGE and recommit to the carmaker, in a move cheered by investors after what analysts have called a "disaster" result.
  
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• Musk to cut back DOGE work as Tesla profits plunge

  23-04-2025 04:37 via abc.net.au
  
  Tesla boss Elon Musk will cut back on his commitment to the Trump administration's DOGE and recommit to the carmaker, in a move cheered by investors after what analysts have called a "disaster" result.
  
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• 2025 Zeekr 9X luxury SUV revealed, could be a chance for Australia

  23-04-2025 03:27 via drive.com.au
  The Chinese brand has shown the first official images of its luxury flagship SUV, boasting the latest ultra-fast charging in battery-electric and plug-in hybrid versions.The first official pictures of the 2025 Zeekr 9X flagship luxury SUV have been released ahead of its public debut at the Shanghai motor show.With its design reminiscent of luxury marques – including chrome detailing and imposing grille similar to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan – the Zeekr 9X will be sold with a battery ele
  
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• Nissan GT-R R36 first details, including release date – report

  23-04-2025 03:00 via drive.com.au
  Nissan says the GT-R will be back with hybrid power and boldy promises it will once again be faster than a Porsche 911 around the famous Nurburgring race track.The Nissan GT-R supercar will return packing Porsche-pummelling hybrid power according to the car maker’s United States (US) chief product planner.The Porsche 911-rivalling Nissan R35 GT-R was unveiled in 2007 with the final versions set to be built in Japan this year, the supercar gradually dropped from showrooms around the world w
  
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• Forza Horizon 5 PS5 review: One of Xbox’s best racing games comes to PlayStation

  23-04-2025 03:00 via drive.com.au
  Xbox’s premiere arcade racing game, Forza Horizon 5, comes to PlayStation after three and half years, so it worth a double dip?Imagine for a second that Ford decided to build a Commodore – that’s what it is like now that Forza Horizon 5 is available on a Sony PlayStation console.While Microsoft and Sony have been duking it out in the ‘console wars’ since 2001 when the former’s original Xbox arrived to take on the latter’s PlayStation 2, the release of th
  
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• Tesla income drops 66 per cent this year

  23-04-2025 02:07 via drive.com.au
  Electric car maker misses previous financial forecasts as its profits fall to its lowest since 2020, forcing it to drop its previous sales growth forecast.Tesla has reported a 66 per cent fall in operational income for the first three months (Q1) of 2025, following a global sales decline of 13 per cent over the same period.The United States (US) electric car maker’s income of $US399 million ($AU626 million) from January to March this year was down on the $US1.17 billion ($AU1.83 billion) i
  
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• 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander update to be tailored for Australia, due in showrooms soon

  23-04-2025 01:00 via drive.com.au
  Australia has played a role in the development of the latest iteration of Mitsubishi’s top seller, which will gain revised styling and new interior features.Mitsubishi engineers have replicated a section of an Australian country road at the company’s proving ground in Japan to help develop the latest version of the Outlander family SUV.Visual changes for the 2025 Outlander are mild, but the facelifted model – due in Australian Mitsubishi showrooms between July and September thi
  
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• Suzuki Jimny’s younger sibling revealed

  23-04-2025 00:00 via drive.com.au
  Want a dirt-road-capable Suzuki with a little more comfort than a Jimny? Try this one-off Swift mild-hybrid hatch with lifted suspension and styling tweaks.The Suzuki Swift city hatch has been given the Jimny treatment, with more rugged looks and taller suspension ready for dirt roads and fire trails.But potential customers hoping for one to park alongside a Jimny in the garage should learn it is strictly a one-off, created by Suzuki in the Netherlands for “inspiration” on how &ldquo
  
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