What surprised the CarExpert team the most in 2024

This year has brought many surprises, but not all of them are pleasant.

In the automotive space, there’s a lot going on in Australia in 2024, and 2025 looks no different.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, here’s a quick rundown of what each member does: car expert Editorial surprised by 2024.

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Paul Maric: Kia Tasman design

Styling is entirely subjective, but I think the direction Kia has taken with the Tasman is ambitious and brave in a way.

But even more surprising is their choice of drivetrain. It entered the field significantly behind its main rivals and offers no compelling on-paper reason to buy it ahead of those rivals.

Maybe Kia is following a value proposition and will price the Tasman based on some value proposition in China. But the interior tech level and finish suggest it’s taking a premium approach.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, as the pickup truck market is very different to what it was when Kia started product planning for the Tasman.

Marton Petendi: How quickly Chinese carmakers are entering Australia

In 2004, when the Volkswagen Polo Classic sedan controversially became the first Chinese-made model to land in Australia, who could have predicted that in just two decades five major Chinese car brands would become popular here?

In 2009, when Great Wall Motors (now Great Wall Motors) became the first Chinese automaker to enter the local auto market, more than 15 years later, who would be surprised that at least 10 Chinese auto brands have appeared here?

The pace at which Chinese car brands have entered Australia this year has been truly stunning and frightening to many traditional carmakers, despite Australia’s proximity to the world’s largest car market and its suitability as a test bed for ambitious Chinese car exporters. safety, technology and emissions requirements for this market.

If the automaker can make a profit in a mature and competitive car market like Australia, it is likely to succeed in other larger Western countries, with the exception of the tariff-protected U.S. market under Trump.

SAIC is China’s largest car manufacturer. Its largest brand, MG, was relaunched in Australia in 2016 (two years later than SAIC’s sister brand LDV) and became China’s main export car brand in 2019. Among Australia’s top ten brands. It ranked seventh in last year’s record new car market.

While Polestar is sold in Australia alongside Geely brands Volvo and Lotus (followed by Zeekr this month), the Chinese-made Tesla has also become Australia’s best-selling electric car.

So far there’s no sign of FAW Group or Dongfeng entering Australia, but Changan, the last member of China’s big four carmakers, will also arrive in Australia this month via the Deepal brand, supplied by Subaru and Peugeot dealer Inchcape.

Other Chinese brands confirmed to launch new mid-size electric SUVs for the best-selling Tesla Model Y within weeks include Xpeng Motors, Kaiwo Motors, Leap Motors (via Jeep parent company Stellantis), followed by Geely Automobile, Geely The car may also be launched under Radar/Riddara and Lynk&Co sister brands.

Foton Motor will relaunch two large new pickup trucks here in early 2025, along with GAC Motor’s Aion brand and perhaps Nio and Chery’s Jietu.

But many of them will go on to become household names – as have Korean brands such as Hyundai and Kia, and Japanese brands before them, led by Toyota.

James Wong: Anti-PHEV agenda

It boggles my mind that there are factions in Australia that are vehemently opposed to plug-in hybrids, as they are, in theory, a good middle ground for local car buyers looking to get into electrification.

With the right consumer education and more choice, plug-in hybrids have the potential to do a lot of good in Australia and become a mainstream choice in the local car market, just like they are in Europe.

However, EV angels and greenwashing regulators, hoping to appear more progressive than they actually are, continue to thumb their noses at powertrain technology as if it has no benefit at all.

Have they forgotten that a large part of the huge growth in EV sales (and to a greater extent plug-in hybrid sales) in recent years is due to government incentives at the state and federal levels?

Rather than forcing consumers to switch directly from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles overnight, we should incentivize most people to switch more aggressively to hybrids and plug-in hybrids (and electric vehicles, where appropriate) because if Used as intended, they can have a greater impact on overall emissions reductions while reducing pressure on infrastructure and eliminating range anxiety.

Personally, I would be more inclined to buy a plug-in hybrid as my next car than an electric car.

William Stopford: The sheer number of Chinese brands announcing their launch in Australia

I know there will be more Chinese brands coming to Australia. This seems completely inevitable as they continue to be excluded from the US market and the EU raised tariffs earlier this year.

Nowadays, competing in Australia seems to be a point of pride for Chinese brands – if you can succeed here, you show that your product may meet strict safety standards and can hold its own against a host of better-known brands in a competitive market. An extremely competitive market.

What I didn’t expect was the sheer number of brands announcing their arrival in Australia.

Geely, for example, wants to add another brand to the mix alongside its namesake.

China’s big four car giant Changan has never set foot in Australia, only announcing its entry into our market through Inchcape distribution of its Deepal EV brand. Shortly after the same dealer announced the restoration of the Foton brand.

Eventually we saw a dizzying number of Chinese brands arriving here. It’s hard to keep track of all these products, and while some are imported through established dealers, others are imported through new importers, which makes things even more interesting.

Let’s see what happens in 2025.

Jordan Mulak: Hybrid car sales

Australia’s surge in hybrid car sales was not something many expected, but looking back, it was probably the most inevitable and logical outcome.

We’ve been told for years that fully electric vehicles (EVs) and even plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) would be the way of the future, but Australian buyers now have more traditional hybrid models available than ever before and they’re buying They come in groups.

Non-plug-in hybrids currently account for almost 15% of new car sales in Australia. While this is largely due to Toyota clearing its backlog, conventional hybrid powertrains are now more widely available in a wider market.

It could be the shot in the arm Australia needs to reduce overall transport emissions, and the encouragement some car companies need to start offering more efficient vehicles to local showrooms.

Jack Quick: Toyota Tundra Pricing

We all knew the Tundra wasn’t going to be cheap, and the infamous “Toyota Tax” was always pretty high, but when news of this pricing broke, I was stunned.

At $155,990 on-the-road, the Tundra is Australia’s most expensive full-size pick-up truck, and then you start looking at heavy-duty options like the Chevrolet Silverado HD and Ram 2500/3500, some of which require a heavy-duty vehicle licence.

This makes the Tundra the most expensive Toyota model ever sold in Australia.

I know Toyota needs to recoup the cost of developing and converting the Walkinshaw’s local right-hand drive, but in the US the equivalent Tundra Limited i-Force Max pickup starts at $58,005 (approximately AU$90,500).

Josh smiled and said: A primer on Toyota’s stunning supercar

Well, that’s definitely not on my bingo card. Japanese giant Toyota will join the Australian Supercars Championship from 2026, pitting the Supra against American muscle cars in Australia’s biggest motorsport category.

While this homegrown series is best known for fostering the rivalry between Ford and Holden (now Chevrolet), it’s not unheard of for manufacturers from further afield – who can forget the Nissan Skyline GTR (also known as the “Brother”)? Silla’s) dominance in the 1990s?

Recently, European manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have tried the supercar model.

However, manufacturer rumors were put to rest after Ford and Chevrolet were announced as the brands debuting in 2020 under the latest Gen3 regulations. It was widely believed that supercars would remain a two-horse race… until a few months ago.

Toyota’s sudden entry leaves us with a lot of questions. Why would Toyota jump into a declining racing category when it already has an extensive motorsport presence in Australia?

Why compete with the Supra, a car that’s expected to at least be axed in the near future?

The questions remain, but Toyota’s leap of faith can only be a good thing for motorsport and road-going performance cars from Australia’s dominant car brand.

Max Davis: Kia Tasman design

There was considerable talk ahead of the Tasman’s launch in October, and even more talk after Kia’s first pickup truck was revealed.

The simplest way to describe its design is…astonishing. I wouldn’t say it looks good, but it certainly draws attention and makes it stand out from the competition.

In a segment where most options look very similar, Kia has at least managed to design something unique and will stand out in the real world, which isn’t easy these days.

I can vouch for this because just last month I instantly recognized a camouflaged Tasman on the Hume Highway and was equally astonished at how massive it was compared to normal traffic.

While the (single and dual cab) body options and (diesel) powertrain choices won’t be that surprising, whether the Tasman can hit Kia’s relatively conservative sales targets for Australia’s massive pickup truck (at least its public The biggest factor in stated goals) is probably the price. But knowing Kia, it can be sharp and has a long warranty.

As for the controversial styling, there will definitely be some pretty big tweaks to improve the Tasman’s controversial looks, possibly even before its mid-2025 launch. But as it stands, it caught my attention in a way I didn’t expect.