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Kia Australia has axed two diesel Carnival grades, and the Picanto GT-Line manual, citing low customer uptake. Kia Australia has swung an axe at some versions of its popular Carnival and Picanto models, citing low customer uptake for the deleted grades. Sport and GT-Line Lite diesel-only grades have been deleted from the 2027 Kia Carnival range, leaving S, Sport+ and GT-Line versions across diesel and hybrid. The latest change is further reduction of the Carnival line-up in Australia, after its long-running petrol V6 engine was axed at the start of this year, to help Kia align with Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) . Meanwhile, the Picanto GT-Line hatchback will not be offered with a manual transmission for Model Year 2027 (MY27), now available in automatic only. MORE: Kia Sportage non-hybrid petrol and entry diesel grades ‘under review’ in Australia The entry-level Picanto Sport continues to offer a five-speed manual or four...

While the rush of Chinese brands onto the Australian market are, unsurprisingly, mostly Chinese-sourced, some more traditional brands have also turned to China as a production hub. While it comes as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of Chinese brands source their cars from China, you may not know that established brands are also bringing Chinese-built cars into the country. The following is a list of cars you may not know as Chinese, despite being manufactured there. Cupra Tavascan Cupra is a Spanish brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen , but the electric Tavascan SUV arrives here from China. A partnership between Volkswagen and JAC Motors is responsible for the Volkswagen Anhui factory in Hefai, where the Tavascan is built. MORE: 2025 Cupra Tavascan price and specs – electric family SUV cheaper than a Tesla Model Y in Australia Hyundai Elexio While South Korean company, Hyundai , sources most of its production from South Kor...

A potential error in the digital owner’s manual of the 2024-2025 Ford Transit Custom has been found, but the fix is easy. Ford Australia has recalled 2246 examples of its 2024-2025 Ford Transit Custom van, citing a potential fault with the digital owner’s manual. The recall notice , lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, says: “The vehicle’s digital owner’s manual may contain incorrect information regarding the location of the child seat anchor point, airbags, seatbelts, and emergency assistance information. “As a result, the user may not be able to locate the appropriate anchor point for attaching the child seat, seatbelts, and other information.” Ford says: “There is no safety hazard, and the defect will not affect the performance of the vehicle. “The affected vehicles do not comply with Australian Design Rule (ADR) 34/02 – Child Restraint Anchorages and Child Restraint ...