EV Central

Newcomer brand Zeekr has enjoyed plenty of success with its 7X mid-sized SUV. Now the aspirational Chinese car maker wants to apply the same successful formula to a sleek sports wagon. Enter the Zeekr 7GT, which the company calls a shooting brake. Beneath the skin it shares its running gear and 800V architecture and platform with the 7X.

After almost two years of teasing and testing, the first battery-powered Range Rover has finally been revealed in production form, with Australian pricing starting from $317,718 plus on-road costs. The Range Rover Electric combines a huge 118.5kWh usable battery with dual electric motors producing 405kW and 850Nm, permanent all-wheel drive and a claimed real-world driving range of up to 535km.

Two of Australia’s newest and most affordable electric cars have scored five-star ANCAP safety ratings under the significantly expanded testing regime introduced in 2026. The $26,490 plus on-road costs Geely EX2 and $35,990 drive-away Leapmotor B05 have become only the second and third vehicles currently on-sale in Australia assessed under ANCAP’s new 2026-2028 “Stages of Safety” protocols.

Want to know how far your EV will take to travel 1000km? We’ve crunched the numbers to find out. Range is one of the EV numbers people fixate on, and charging speed is the number that actually decides how your day goes. Neither is a whole lot of use on its own.

The new Polestar 4 SUV has been officially revealed, transforming the Swedish EV brand’s best-selling SUV-coupe into a more conventional and practical electric SUV, complete with the rear window conspicuously absent from the original. Due to reach Australian customers in the fourth quarter of 2026, the Polestar 4 SUV has been priced from $73,900 plus on-road costs for the Rear motor and $81,750 for the Dual motor, rising to $95,450 when fitted with the Plus pack and Performance pack.

The wait is over. This is our first proper look at the reborn Mitsubishi Pajero, with Mitsubishi finally ripping the covers from its new-generation flagship off-roader ahead of its Australian arrival. And there’s plenty here to get excited about, from its chunky new styling and serious ladder-frame 4WD hardware to its seven-seat interior and return to flagship status within the Mitsubishi range. Frustratingly, though, there’s no fresh news on electrification.

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz has been transformed into an electric campervan, with the new ID. California Cruise combining sleeping accommodation for two with vehicle-to-load power and climate control that can operate for up to 48 hours. Revealed at the 2026 Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf, the ID. California Cruise is the first battery-electric model to officially join Volkswagen’s California campervan family.

Jaecoo has slashed thousands of dollars from the price of its J7 plug-in hybrid SUV while adding a potent new all-wheel drive flagship as competition intensifies among affordable PHEV medium SUVs. Due in Australian dealerships this month, the updated MY27 Jaecoo J7 SHS-P range now starts at $39,990 drive-away for the front-wheel drive Track, a hefty $4000 reduction from its previous $43,990 drive-away price.

Geely’s new Monjaro EM-i plug-in hybrid has begun its global rollout, with the large five-seat SUV expected to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2027. The f9ve-seat SOV has launched in Egypt ahead of expansion into the UAE, Mexico and Kazakhstan, followed by the UK and Europe, as Geely pushes ahead with a rapid expansion of its international electrified vehicle range.

The Australian-developed suspension and steering tune created for the new JAC Hunter PHEV ute is going global, with New Zealand confirmed as the first overseas market to adopt it and other Asia-Pacific countries expected to follow. Developed by experienced Australian vehicle dynamics engineer Michael Barber, the tune was initially commissioned to make the plug-in hybrid Hunter better suited to local roads and driving conditions.