All the new EV brands coming to Australia by 2025 

By the end of 2025, there could be more than 40 brands of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia as a swathe of carmakers expand globally.

That’s almost as many as in the UK – which is significant because it is also a right-hand drive market, in a world where many EVs are initially made in left-hand drive.

The new vanguard of electric vehicle makers is, in some ways, just another side of the same coin that saw Japanese carmakers like Toyota and Nissan enter the market in the late 1950s and 1960s, followed by South Korean carmakers like Hyundai and Kia in the 1980s and 1990s.

Ranging from EV startups to megabrands they all hail from China, the world’s largest EV market. They are eyeing a country with no protectionist outlook - unlike the USA, which has just implemented a 100 per cent tariff of Chinese EVs.

With Australia's car manufacturing industry now long assigned to history, our only protectionist tax scheme is the Luxury Car Tax – and the threshold for fuel efficient vehicles now sits near $90,000. With EV prices falling fast, it doesn't apply to most new EVs coming to market.

And they will, now that Australia has a National Electric Vehicle Strategy, and a newly passed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard that will ensure carmakers endeavour to sell more zero and low emissions options to reach CO2 targets or face punitive fines.

The irony is that best-selling brands like Ford and Toyota have only just come to market with EVs, and Volkswagen has held off launching its ID range until Australia passed an NVES.

But now, within a few years there will be more competition than ever before – making their efforts to reach NVES targets that much harder. 

The top selling EVs here in 2024 are already made in China. Tesla makes the Model 3 and Model Y at its Gigafactory Shanghai, and it has sold almost 15,000 EVs in Australia in the first four months of 2024.

The next two top sellers of EVs are made by MG and BYD. BYD sells the BYD Atto 3, BYD Seal and BYD Dolphin, which respectively rank number three, four and six on the EV sales ladder. It has sold a little more than 6800 EVs in Australia to the end of April in 2024. MG’s MG4 electric hatchback is the fifth most popular EV this year, with 1811 hitting the road so far this year.

New brands confirmed for Australia include:

• Aion;
• Geely Auto and its sister brands Zeekr, Smart and Lynk & Co;
• Stellantis-backed Leapmotor;
• Xpeng;
• Aiways (potentially).

The question is, will Australia embrace the new technology and design sensibilities of Chinese brands or turn to their long-loved and trusted favourites?

So what are the new EVs we could see from Chinese carmakers in coming years? 

Aion is a high-performance pure EV sub-brand of Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC). It is planning to arrive in Australia in 2025, and ahead of this has launched a very simple website where drivers can register expressions of interest for the extremely sleek and sporty Hyper HT, Hyper GT, Hyper SSR and all-new Aion V.

While this by no means all of these will make it here, make no mistake: any of the Hyper range will be eye catchers and traffic stoppers on the road.

The last though is the second-generation Aion V, which has an aerodynamic profile accentuated by smooth lines, chiselled skirts and arrow-like taillights, while at the front is a distinctive closed grille, characteristic of modern EVs.

Aion’s Chinese website suggests the 4065mm long, 2775mm wide Aion V offers a real-world driving range of around 525km (750km based on the Chinese CLTC rating), a 400-volt architecture that can add 370km range in 15 minutes, a spacious interior one-touch folding seats that can lie flat to make a bed, and an AI-based “self-evolving” cockpit. 

Geely Auto, along with Zeekr and Lynk & Co (a plug-in hybrid brand not listed here but also coming to Australia) are sister brands to Volvo and Polestar which are already selling EVs in Australia.

Geely Holding’s eponymous marque has started advertising for staff, including a Marketing Director, in Australia, marking its readiness for market. With a plan to launch around mid-2025, it could bring with it the Riddara RD6 electric ute (renamed from Radar after a trademark battle.)

This fully electric pickup truck features a 200kW motor, providing a range of up to 632 km and accelerating from 0 to 100 km/hr in 6.9 seconds. The RD6 supports fast charging, adding 100 km of range in just 10 minutes.

It offers V2L with a huge 6kW output, and has a 1,200-litre bed, 70-litre front storage, and 48-litre rear seat storage. Inside, it has dual 12.3-inch screens, a 9-inch heads-up display, and advanced safety features like six airbags and Bosch electronic stability.

Smart, co-owned by Geely Holding and Mercedes-Benz, used to sell internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in Australia from 2003-2015. It has just announced it will make a return by the end of 2025 and is expected to launch with the Smart #1 compact SUV and Smart #3, the #1’s larger sibling.

The Smart #1 is a compact electric SUV that combines practicality with advanced technology. Powered by a single electric motor, it produces 200 kW, delivering strong performance and quick acceleration.

The #3 comes in two configurations: a rear-wheel-drive version with a 200kW motor and an all-wheel-drive Brabus variant with 315 kW.

Both feature a 66 kWh battery, providing a range of up to 440 kilometres (WLTP).

Zeekr on the other hand has all the edge a new brand needs in this day and age and will appeal to a young, hip market. It has confirmed it will launch two vehicles in the second half of 2024: the Zeekr X and the Zeekr 009.

The Zeekr X is a compact electric SUV set to make its debut in Australia by the end of 2024. Based on the same platform as the upcoming Volvo EX30, the Zeekr X comes in two variants: a long-range single-motor variant that delivers 200 kW and has a range of around 440 kilometres, and a standard-range dual-motor version with 315 kW, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and offering a range of approximately 446 kilometres based on the WLTP standard.

The Zeekr 009 is a large, 5.2m long luxury electric people-mover also slated for release in Australia by the end of 2024. This vehicle stands out with its impressive specs, including a 400kW powertrain that propels the 009 from 0 to 100 km/h in an astonishing 4.5 seconds. It features an enormous 140kWh battery, providing a range of up to 822 kilometres based on the Chinese CLTC standard (about 575km real-world range.)  

Budget EV brand Leapmotor teamed up with European big name Stellantis in 2023 in a bid to ease expansion headaches outside of China. The latter’s 21 per cent stake (worth €1.5 billion or $AU2.5 billion) will see Leapmotor International (which Stellantis also owns 51 per cent of) enter global markets - including Australia as soon as late 2024.

The Leapmotor C10 is a fully electric, family-centric SUV that is the first of Leapmotor’s stable to be built on its global LEAP 3.0 architecture. Global specs include a 170kW/230Nm motor, and around 370km real-world range from a 69.9kWh battery.

The Leapmotor T03 is a compact electric city car that excels in urban environments. It boasts a real-world range of around 280 kilometres, powered by an 80kW electric motor. Export specs are as yet unconfirmed but in China it is available in four variants with smallish 30-41kWh batteries. 

Startup Xpeng has confirmed it will launch in Australia in the last quarter of 2024 with the Xpeng G6. This is a mid-size electric SUV that debuted in April 2023 and has just been launched in Hong Kong, a fellow right-hand drive market, starting at $HK299,000 (about $AU57,500 at today’s rates.)

It is available in multiple trims, with options for rear-wheel drive (RWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD).

The RWD models feature a single electric motor producing 190kW/440Nm, while the AWD models come with dual motors delivering 350kW/660Nm. The G6 offers a choice between a 66 kWh LFP battery for 435 WLTP range or a nickel-cobalt-based 87.5kWh battery, which delivers a maximum range of up to 550-570km depending on whether it is AWD or RWD.

With an 800-volt architecture, it is capable of charging at up to 280kW, taking it from 10 to 80 per cent in less than 20 minutes.

Seven-year-old Chinese startup Aiways has expressed interest in launching in Australia, but not yet indicated when. Having already made its mark left-hand drive Europe, it revealed after the launch of its recent U6 electric fastback that it would definitely consider entering Australia after it enters other right-hand drive markets.

If and when it does, it might bring the Aiways U6 as well as the U5 electric SUV.

The Aiways U6 is a sleek, modern electric SUV that features a 160kW electric motor delivering 315 Nm of torque, providing a smooth and responsive driving experience. The U6 is equipped with a 63kWh battery, offering a WLTP range of up to 400 kilometres on a single charge.

The Aiways U5 SUV offers similar specs and both promise a spacious interior with a 14.6-inch central touchscreen, advanced driver-assistance systems, and a minimalist design that emphasises comfort and functionality.