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BYD and its Chinese rivals will sell you more space, luxury, and tech than Kia for the same money, but the Korean giant won’t turn to massive discounts to compete. Kia EV3 Air. Kia Australia says it will not “burn” existing customers with drastic discounts to compete on price with the growing array of budget-priced electric cars from China. The South Korean car giant is Australia’s top-selling electric-car brand that isn’t Chinese, though its most popular battery-powered model, the EV5 , is made in the nation from which BYD , MG , and Geely hail. The cheapest EV5 is similar in price to an entry-level BYD Sealion 7 , but it has 80km less driving range, and lacks luxuries such as leather seats, wireless phone charging, a 360-degree camera, and a sunroof, which are standard on its rival. A Geely EX5 electric SUV is similar in size to the $56,770 EV5, yet starts from just $40,990 before on-road costs, with a similar range and longer list of features. MORE: 2026 Kia EV4 revie...

Yes, BYD Australia is passing on local feedback on the Shark 6 to head office in China. BYD is looking at improving the off-road capability of its big-selling Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute. In an interview with Drive , BYD Australia’s chief operating officer, Stephen Collins, said the brand was looking to satisfy the requirements of those who want to take their Shark 6 on more arduous off-road terrain. There’s been some criticism of the current Shark 6’s performance when taken off the beaten track, and BYD is aware of the vehicle’s shortcomings. “We are really, really proud of Shark and we’re very, very proud of the customer reaction, the market position it’s in … but having said that, I don’t think anything’s perfect,” conceded Collins. MORE: 2026 BYD Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis price leaked “So we are constantly feeding back where there’s opportunities to improve, where there’s opportunities to upgrade… We’ll have a bit more to say about that in the coming months wi...

Some of Australia’s best-selling car brands are being propped up by one or two models, with some brands’ most popular cars outstripping sales of the rest of their range. Four of Australia’s five most popular car brands, including Ford and Hyundai, are being heavily bolstered by just one, two or three models, with more than 50 per cent of their overall sales going to a tiny fraction of the car they offer, recent data shows. Recent VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries revealed that of the nine models sold by Ford, just one took the lion’s share of the brand’s sales last month. RELATED: The Ford Ranger took more than 54 per cent of the marque’s overall sales in January 2026, with its next best selling model, the Everest, accounting for about 30 per cent of sales. Ford’s third-best selling car was the Mustang, but just 355 of those were purchased (less than 6 per cent) compared with the Ranger’s whopping 3,241 purchases. Two Hyundai models – the Kon...

The Kamiq is a fantastic car for the money. Owner: Wayne I’ve had my MY23 Kamiq Monte Carlo 1.5TSI since October 2023, purchased in QLD Australia. I managed to get it for $40,000 with 10 years free servicing.  Issues I’ve had over the last 27 months: a knocking noise under load when cold – dealer replaced the mechatronic unit last year at its first service; the issue is still there but not as bad (goes away when the engine is at operating temp). Driver’s side window switch became faulty – dealer replaced and all good now. Rear hatch occasionally did not open automatically – but this was fixed by lubricating the rubber seals around the hatch. Interior rattles – seems to be disappearing over time.  It’s been a fantastic highway and city cruiser, I regularly get 700-800km out of a tank, long term combined average consumption is around 6.3L/100km and that’s with the AC on almost all of the time. On the highway, I regularly see low 5’s.  The Monte Carlo has 18″ wheel...

Most drivers are aware of the road rules, but some frustrated locals have called out the illegal driving habits they see too often. In a country as vast as Australia, it’s common to share the roads with other drivers who have varying degrees of on-road experience. And even though most motorists show some sense of etiquette and decorum by following road rules, a recent Reddit thread has exposed the shocking bad driving habits that Aussies are commonly seeing. RELATED: ‘Everyone is laughing at you’: Tesla drivers targeted by this ‘parking fine’ Taking to the Driving Australia Reddit thread, one user asked, “What’s one driving habit you see every day that genuinely shouldn’t be this common anymore?” The original poster started the conversation by expressing their frustration at drivers failing to follow basic roundabout rules. “The complete lack of indicator use at roundabouts does my head in. It’s not a guessing game. If you’re going right, indicate right. If you’re exiting...

The Triton was Australia’s third-best-selling 4×4 ute last month, as Mitsubishi continues to offer significant discounts across the range. The Mitsubishi Triton beat the Isuzu D-Max in four-wheel-drive ute deliveries last month, with a 34 per cent sales increase amid sharp discounts and an expanded range of cab-chassis grades. Australian new-car sales data shows 1407 examples of the Mitsubishi Triton 4×4 were sold in January 2026, behind the Ford Ranger 4×4 (3241) and Toyota HiLux 4×4 (2275), but ahead of the Isuzu D-Max 4×4 (1393) and BYD Shark 6 (1108). However, better sales of the D-Max 4×2 (405) compared to the Triton 4×2 (258) saw the Isuzu surpass the Mitsubishi in total sales, at 1798 and 1665, respectively. The Ford Ranger totalled 3403, and the Toyota HiLux totalled 2800, while these utes were followed by the Mazda BT-50 (1025), GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha (959), Nissan Navara (487) and Kia Tasman (467). MORE: 2026 Mitsubishi Triton revealed with impr...