The Audi A6 is a high-end car that is usually very comfortable and packed with tech features. The new version will be electric, which means it will run on batteries instead of gasoline.
Formula One is a popular type of car racing where teams build very fast cars to compete in races. It's known for exciting races and advanced technology.
The BMW M3 is a fast and sporty car that is part of the 3 Series lineup from BMW. It's popular because it combines luxury with great performance, making it exciting to drive.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a famous car race that lasts for 24 hours straight. Teams compete to see who can cover the most distance in that time, making it a real test of endurance for both the cars and the drivers.
F1 stands for Formula 1, which is a type of car racing that features very fast cars and takes place on special tracks. It's one of the most popular and exciting forms of motorsport.
A Grand Prix is a big car race, usually part of a series where drivers compete for points. It's known for having very fast cars and is often held on special tracks.
A Le Mans racer is a type of race car made for a famous long-distance race called the 24 Hours of Le Mans. These cars are very fast and built to last a long time on the track.
The Ferrari F50 is a very rare and fast sports car that looks amazing and is built for high performance. It's famous among car enthusiasts for its speed and design.
The LaFerrari is a very fast and expensive car made by Ferrari. It's special because it uses both a traditional engine and an electric motor to go really fast while being more efficient.
The Ferrari F8 Tributo is a super-fast sports car that looks stunning and is built for amazing performance. It's popular among car lovers for its speed and luxury.
The Toyota RAV4 is a popular small SUV known for being reliable and having a lot of space inside. Many people choose it because it's good on gas and practical for families.
The Ford Ranger is a type of truck that can carry heavy loads and is great for outdoor adventures. It's popular because it's tough and can be used for both work and fun.
The BMW M5 is a super-fast luxury car that is part of the 5 Series from BMW. It's known for being really powerful and comfortable, making it a great choice for those who want speed and luxury.
FBT exemptions help reduce taxes on certain car leases, making it cheaper for people to lease those cars. This can encourage more people to choose electric cars.
An ICE car is a regular car that runs on gas or diesel, as opposed to electric cars that use batteries. It's the type of car most people are familiar with.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a family-friendly SUV that can fit a lot of people and has plenty of space for luggage. It's a good option for those who need a practical vehicle for trips.
The Kia Sportage is a compact SUV that looks good and has a lot of modern features. It's popular because it's affordable and practical for everyday use.
The Toyota Hilux is a tough truck that can handle rough conditions and heavy loads. It's popular because it's reliable and great for work or outdoor adventures.
The Mazda CX-5 is a stylish SUV that is fun to drive and has a nice interior. It's popular because it combines good looks with practicality for everyday use.
The Kia Sorento is a larger SUV that has a lot of room for passengers and their stuff. It's a good choice for families because it can fit everyone comfortably.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that is very popular because it's affordable and gets good gas mileage. It's a great choice for people who want a reliable car for everyday use.
The Nissan X-Trail is a compact SUV that has a lot of room for passengers and their belongings. It's a good option for families because it's practical and safe.
The Volkswagen ID.5 is a new electric SUV that runs on batteries instead of gas. It's important because it shows how car companies are moving towards more eco-friendly options.
The Skoda Octavia is a compact car that has a lot of space inside and is very practical. It's a good choice for people who want a reliable car without spending too much.
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV that doesn't use gas and is known for being very high-tech. It's popular because it's good for the environment and has a lot of space for passengers and cargo.
The Honda HR-V is a small SUV that has a lot of space inside and can be very practical for everyday use. It's known for being reliable and good on gas, making it a smart choice for city driving.
The Honda CR-V is a popular SUV that has a lot of room inside for people and their stuff. It's known for being reliable and comfortable, making it a great family car.
The Nissan Pathfinder is a large SUV that can fit a lot of people and is good for family trips. It's also capable of driving on rough roads, making it versatile for different adventures.
The Volvo EX90 is a new electric SUV that doesn't use gas and focuses on safety and being good for the environment. It's important because it shows how cars are changing to be more eco-friendly.
The Kia EV3 is a new electric car that runs on batteries instead of gasoline. It's important because it shows how car companies are working towards greener options.
The Ram 1500 is a big truck that can handle heavy loads and is great for work or towing. It's also comfortable to drive, making it a good choice for everyday use.
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the top selling small SUV in the category.
And we're not exactly sure why yet,
but I do see a lot of them around.
Well, the top spec ones are the 90 grand.
I think probably more if you want to practice.
You know, there are a lot of rich people
that want these kinds of cars.
G'day, I'm Sean, and welcome back to the Car Expert podcast.
The Australian Grand Prix has been run and won,
not by the right person, unfortunately.
So thanks to McLaren for sending me this hat,
but I won't be wearing that until Oscar wins.
James, you went to the Grand Prix.
Well, I went to the lead up events of the Grand Prix.
I wasn't there for the actual race.
Yes, I did attend.
I think it was a bit too damn.
I went Saturday and then stayed home Sunday,
which I think was the right call,
especially given the outcome.
And the weather.
Oh, and the weather. Yeah, yeah, the weather, too.
Yeah, yeah.
But you went to check out the new Audi's, but they're not...
I'm so confused about the whole Audi lineup
because they were changing the naming system
to reflect electric and internal combustion,
and now they're sort of given up on that, haven't they?
Yeah, so there's all these new models coming from Audi,
and they made a lot of controversy recently
because they started changing some of their naming structures.
So it started off with changing from engine displacement
and then the code names for petrol or diesel power.
And the 40-40 per sign of things.
Yeah, it's having power numbers,
but they weren't actually outputs, so it was a bit weird.
And then they started changing with their new stuff
that the odd numbers were going to be combustion vehicles
and the even numbers were going to be EVs only.
They've recently backtracked on that.
So the A6 will be the first line that doesn't have that.
So the A6 will be electric to start off with
with the new E-tron that's coming here later this year,
and they just revealed the new A6 Avant petrol and hybrid version.
When I was at the Grand Prix with them on Friday,
they had a media night.
They debuted the new S6 Sportback E-tron
and the S5 Avant to the media there, which was really cool.
And at the front, they had the new...
The facelifted RSQ8 performance as well
is that really cool RS6 GT.
There's only a handful of those coming to Australia.
They're all, I think, 400 grand plus on roads,
but they're more powerful.
They've got lowered suspension, they're more focused,
and you can have them in one of two liveries.
There's a rally heritage one that's white, orange, and black,
and then there's also an all-blacked-out one, which is really cool.
The big thing for Audi at the Grand Prix
is that next year, they will be re-entering
the Constructors' Championship.
Yeah, the works team.
Yeah, I don't think they've been in since the 30s,
so it's been a very, very long time.
So they had their big marquee set up
right next to Ferrari actually on the main straight
in the lead-up for that.
So they sort of had clients coming in and media and things like that.
Just sort of working up some commotion,
because next year, that will be their first race.
So they've locked in their real estate now.
Yeah, first of all, that new S5 looks unreal,
I have to say. It looks really good.
Secondly, it'll be interesting to see how Audi goes
when they do take over the Sauber team,
because last time they had some successful world championships,
they were able to cheat and use four-wheel drive.
So I don't know how they're going to go with Formula One,
but good luck to them.
The other thing that was, as you said,
right next to Audi was the Ferrari stand,
which again, this is your video.
Yes, this is all my videography,
so I'm going to be coming for Sean's job soon.
But yeah, so went to the media night with Ferrari on the Thursday,
which is more of a cocktail party,
not a huge announcement or newsy sort of thing,
but they revealed the new F80,
which is a $5 million hybrid hypercar,
basically based around a,
it's a road-going version, I'd say,
of Ferrari's 24 Hours of Le Mans racer.
And you just look at it, it was awesome.
But the big surprise as well is that
the drivers came and unveiled it for us.
So we got to be almost touching distance
to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton,
which is really, really cool.
I think I'm in my new F1 girly era.
I think that's the term that's on TikTok.
But I've never really been to the F1 before,
and to be able to attend these events in the lead-up
and get around the hype,
and I love cars in general,
and these events were really centered
around the manufacturer's vehicles.
It was really, really cool.
So awesome opportunity to get up close,
and some of that suffering really caught on social.
So it was really fun.
Well, look, I'd say the unveiling of this
went a lot better than Ferrari's weekend,
in the Grand Prix did.
I have to say, this is a spiritual successor to the F50,
and it looks, I think it looks mega,
except for the Moustache.
I don't really get this whole Moustache thing
that Ferrari are doing, but it's just got so much presence.
Wasn't that from a really old era of supercars
that they had?
I recall there was one of their triangular ones.
Was it the 280 or the one after that
that had sort of like a black Moustache panel
sort of thing like that?
I think it's like a retro design thing,
but I get what you mean.
It's a polarizing zone,
but I saw the images of this when it was first revealed,
and I thought it was a bit square and blocky,
and it didn't really make a lot of sense,
whereas seeing it in person,
it's such a long, wide, low-to-the-ground car.
It's got a lot of presence,
and it really just looks like an unlivery Le Mans racer.
Sort of like, I don't know,
some people that are listening
and maybe aren't like Gran Turismo 3 players like we were,
but you used to be able to get like secret unlocked cars
that were unlivered versions of the race cars
that you could buy in the showroom,
and I feel like this kind of has that energy,
which is really cool.
Yeah, it's got so much presence.
When you see it, it's one of those cars,
kind of like the Qantasch,
or I'm trying to think of other cars
that have that sort of presence,
or like seeing an F-50 really, like it's...
Yeah, and I love the F-50,
and like the carbon fiber wheels and everything.
The detailing was so meticulous
and just really, really beautiful,
and the interior is quite pared back,
but like the seats were gorgeous,
the steering wheel looks lovely,
and all the screens and stuff were all
very, very driver focused and minimalist,
and I think this is a really cool flagship for Ferrari
to have moving forward.
Only 799 of them will be made,
which is not a lot by series production standards,
but it's the most, I think,
by quite a long shot of any of their flagship
hypercars or supercars that they've made in one go.
I think the LaFerrari only made like 400, 500 units.
So yeah, this will probably be a little bit more common per se,
but I guess that's down to demand
because there are a lot of rich people
that want these kinds of cars,
and if the launch party was anything to go by,
there are plenty of people
that are buying Ferraris at the moment.
Absolutely. Are you going to buy a Ferrari F80?
Leave a comment, let us know.
If you do, please let us have a drive of it.
But let's dive in today.
We're going to be focusing on V-Fax,
but we're also going to touch
on the long term as that we've been driving.
But yeah, let's get straight into V-Fax.
This is for February.
Now, just a reminder, we call it V-Fax.
It's actually an amalgamation of the FCAI V-Fax numbers
and the EV counts numbers because Tesla and Polestar
don't get along with the FCAI
and decided to report their numbers separately.
So in our Brisbane office,
does a really good job to put them all together for us,
and then we break it down for you guys.
So a headline figure, 96,710 deliveries in February,
which is down 7.9% year on year,
but it's actually up from January,
where they only delivered 86,000.
So I don't want to say it's a changing trend.
I don't want to say that we're on the up and up,
but is it typical that January is a bit of a slow month
or we just see more models come in now?
Well, look, we've obviously come off the back
of a few really strong years in market.
And I know last year we were discussing
whether it would be a decline
and we ended up having another record.
And I think that was sort of the tail end
of supply chain issues and latent deliveries
that people were waiting to get their hands on
off the back of COVID.
I think now we're seeing a really good stable market
now, which is a really good representation
of what's being ordered and what's coming in,
because most brands don't really have extended delays
on their mainstream products anymore.
Toyota being a big part of that.
You see how many RAV4s are being sold at the moment.
It's been sustained now.
I think they sold another 5,000 units
and it was number one for the month.
So that's the front runner for most popular car of the year.
The top 10 manufacturers,
they're all sort of about the same with a couple of exceptions.
So Kia's jumped into third place in front of Ford.
I guess that's just down to maybe a surge of Everest
and ranger sales sort of coming off a little bit.
Toyota now has the Prada as well,
so people aren't just buying Heiferists and GWM.
Oh, look at that, say GMW.
Yeah, it's BMW's name.
The joint venture between BMW and GWM,
which exists because that's what the Mini was born out of.
I look forward to the GWM M5.
Yes, but swap spaces with MG 7th and 8th
and pushing to become a top five brand.
I think MG and GWM have been doing a lot of work lately.
Obviously, they have a lot of challenges
coming out of their home, their backyard really,
and now having to work on what makes sets them apart.
And I know that they're really focusing on value.
They've got a real breadth of product and really working,
GWM especially working heavily on plug-in hybrid and EV tech.
So we're seeing the Canon Alpha plug-in hybrid,
the H6 GT plug-in hybrid, I believe a new H6,
the conventional SUV version will have
an extended range plug-in hybrid as well.
It'd be interesting to see how that goes,
given the FBT exemptions are ending at the end of March,
currently, depending on what happens with the next election as well.
I think for what it's worth, I've been thinking about this a lot.
I think we care more about that than a lot of the general public do,
because I don't think that fab sales are going to die come April or May.
I think people will still buy it and it's just...
If it suits them, they'll be happy to pay the money.
Yeah, I think what will change though is a lot of people,
obviously, finance lease, their cars are novated leases,
and I think one of the direct correlations we've been able to see with the FBT exemptions
is that fab sales boomed as a result of that,
because the cost difference between a fab and an ICE car
was quite wide for a long time, and that exemption basically alleviated that.
So it'll be interesting to see the sustained trend of fab sales from there,
because like you say, there are more coming to market.
People want them, and I think the brands that have been in market already have done a really
good job of educating people how they work.
They're not going to work for everybody the same way that EVs don't work for everybody.
But I think what's important here is that Australians are getting more access to things,
and while the NVES stuff seems like it's taking things away or making things more challenging,
what it does do is it opens up some of the technologies and the products that we haven't
been able to get in market previously are now coming here,
and so it allows the consumer to make their own educated choices to what works best for them.
So we'll just see how that goes, but I'll be interested to be seeing,
you know, whether that sustained growth continues for a long time.
Well, you mentioned the gap between ICE and plug-in hybrid vehicles,
and I think that's disappearing, because obviously we've got the shark at $60,000,
and the other BYD plug-in hybrids are all well-priced.
The Ranger is coming. We've finally got pricing, which if we've got pricing,
I think about two and a half hours after we filled the last podcast.
But it's only about three grand difference between its equivalent V6 diesel,
so it's not a huge leap for a lot of people, and I think if you're a fleet buyer or, you know,
government council, things like that, they're not going to care. They're just going to pay that.
Yeah, and I think, you know, part of the reason why there was such a big price difference before
is that manufacturers were only being able to get a very, very small amount,
and therefore to offset that and still make a profit that would inflate the prices.
Ford's done a really good job considering the range of FEV comes out of a different
factory, which is tariffed in our market and still maintaining a very good price cap.
It'll be interesting to see what the other brands do, but, you know, we've seen brands like Coupre
and other European brands sort of close that gap a little bit to make it more attractive,
and, you know, with the definition of a fuel-efficient car by Australian government
definitions changing mid-this year, it still will mean that FEVs are still a little bit more
attractive than some of the other cars on the market because some of those things will change.
So even though it's not an FBT exemption, it will still be subject to a higher threshold
for luxury car tax, for example. All right, well, let's run through the top 10 brands.
We'll just keep this light. There's a lot of numbers, and I don't want to bore everyone with it,
but unsurprisingly, Toyota, number one, still by 10,000 vehicles over Mazda,
it's like 18,832, slightly up on January's number, but, I mean, down year on year,
no real surprise there because we are seeing that trend. Mazda, second, Kia, third, Ford,
fifth, so Ford slipping down the order. Ford, Mitsubishi's fifth. Oh, God, I told you there's
a lot of numbers. Then Hyundai, GWM pushing right up, as you said before, they are keen to be a top
five brand, and based on these numbers and their growth and sneakily putting all their brands back
under the one umbrella, they're well on track to it. I honestly think with that plug-in hybrid
Canon Alpha, I can't remember, they changed the name of it. Canon Alpha is the big one.
The Canon is the smaller one, which used to be called the Ute.
Yes, I think that's going to help them jump up a bit, definitely, especially from a fleet sales
perspective. The GWM knocked MG down a position to eighth, Nissan in ninth, and Subaru in tenth,
but what you'll notice if you look at the car of the manufacturer that's 11th, BYD,
and we had a bit of a say about them last month because they were way, way down the order.
Turns out there was a slight clerical error, allegedly, that didn't account for quite a
number of hundred of shark six deliveries in January. So that's been rectified, and BYD
straight up the order as we, I guess we kind of expected with that shark six.
There's circling the top 10 there. Is that playing?
Good pun, very good. Very good. That's the brand, but when we look at the model breakdown,
the model breakdown, I think, is what really tells the story here, because RAV4 numbers are down
from last month. So we were talking there in the 5000s, now down in the mid-4000s. Now is that
that sort of backlog coming back a little bit, sort of being cleared?
I definitely think so, because this time last year, it was very early days, we were still
seeing that RAV4s were subject to six to eight month wait times, and Toyota was pretty open with
the second half of last year, seeing that normalized to anywhere between two and four months,
depending on which model you got. And the fact that even 12 months later, we're still seeing
its top of the pops, and it's still doing a decent volumet, four and a half thousand units
for February. I think what we'll see is that it will continue maybe around this point, and what
will be interesting to see is that with other makes and models coming into the fold, or seeing
updates, I look at Outlander has been doing really, really strong for the last little bit.
There's a facelifted model coming in a couple of months, including a FEV with
even more range than currently. You've got challenges from Toyota with the Prado,
again, within their own backyard. They were looking to, I think, register over 30,000 units
in the first 12 months, and it launched in October. So that's a lot of cars per month.
BYD with the Shark Six, if there's sustained order and water banks for that, that could be
doing really well. And then Kia's got a new sportage coming soon, there's meant to be more
hybrids. Who knows, that might really charge up the sales charts. Same with the Subaru Forester,
which has been long in the tooth for a while, and there's a brand new model coming very soon
with a Toyota hybrid system. Again, Toyota's hybrid system has been a major selling point for
them. So the fact that Subaru has a vehicle coming to market basically with the same or similar tech,
but a different form factor, better focus on adventure and off-road capability,
could really shake things up as well. And with the new market, Range of FEV might
give it a shot in the arm, all that kind of stuff. So it's a really interesting time. But
yeah, I think what we'll see is that the market, the overall volume will start to slow down a little
bit, especially if we still have big reports about cost of living pressures and things like
that. People aren't necessarily rushing out to buy a brand new car, especially given Australians
tend to gravitate towards higher grades. It's an expensive exercise when you're looking at even
ranger and high-lux, the average transaction price of $60,000 to $70,000 is a lot of money.
Well, the top spec ones, the top spec range is 90 grand, I think, for the platinum and then
probably more if you want to. Absolutely. And I think this is where those hybrid plug-in hybrid
and EV options will start coming into play, because people start thinking about ongoing running costs,
how much am I paying for fuel, how much am I paying for servicing? So yeah, it's an interesting
time. But at the moment, we're still sort of seeing a fairly stable top 10 with the couple of
shufflings around. But I think in the months ahead, we'll start to see that change a little bit.
Yeah. So Ranger in second, where Ford was let down was by the Everest, which plummeted down to 19th.
But yeah, Ranger second, we have 4,040 deliveries, then Hilux, Prada, Outlander rounding out your
top five shark up to sixth place. And again, I think there was, I can't remember the exact number,
there was a couple of hundreds that were left out from the January numbers. But I mean, that's
still tons of cars they've delivered. 100%. And it's quickly become their top selling model.
I genuinely see one at least one every single day, both near here in Melbourne CBD, but also out
where I live in the eastern suburbs. So they're definitely hitting customers' hands and people
driving them around, they look good. And it's overtaken the D-Max, which was for the longest
time, number three, or in the top five. So it's interesting time. And then you've got CX-5 there
with 1,900 units, that thing just keeps on going, doesn't it? That is one of the oldest cars on the
list, I think, apart from maybe the CX-3. Yeah, the CX-3 is probably older, but the CX-5 also
just had some updates announced. So there's a running tech change which sees some of the higher end
autonomous technology and some of the headlight tech that's available or previously been exclusive
to the top grades is now filtering down to the Turing spec, which is about mid spec. So it'll
be interesting to see whether that, again, gives it a little bit of a boost moving forward because
people might not need to buy the Akira, for example, which is close to 60 grand on the road.
Then after that, the Sportage was just behind with 1,127. And the Kona had a really great month
with 1,889 units. And I believe was the top selling small SUV in the category. And we're not
exactly sure why yet, but I do see a lot of them around. Yeah, I mean, the Kona really came out
of nowhere because it's been nowhere for quite a while and suddenly jumped up. The Sportage
is one I just want to touch on quickly because it's been around for a while now. And I know
that this facelift is only a couple of years old, but it's still quite a, I don't know, every time
I drive it, I really, really enjoy driving it. Yes, this one actually was the first of a new
generation, which came out, I think, maybe three years ago. And basically, it's on a shrunken
version of the Sorento platform, whereas the old one was, I think, an enlarged version of the
Soratto platform. So this one is getting a fairly comprehensive midlife facelift within the next
couple of months. We'll still be retaining the current petrol, diesel, and hybrid drivetrains,
but there might be a shakeup in terms of which powertrains are available on which trim level.
Kia's been really open about the fact that with the NVES coming in as a punitive measure from
1st of July, that they'll be working very hard to get more hybrid versions of its very popular SUV
model. So Sorento Sportage are big parts in that. Sportage has a monthly cap of 300-ish
hybrid units at the moment, which is very low when you look at RAV4 being a hybrid only vehicle
doing 4,400 units a month. And I think that will be opening up with this facelift. So we can expect
that, whether from the base S or 1up from that, that you'll see hybrid options across the board,
which gives more people access and might see that get a boost in sales volume moving forward.
And the Kona is another example where having petrol, hybrid, and EV options, I think the
hybrid's been a major driver force in that in recent times. And while it was never quite the
top seller, at least at the beginning of this generation's life cycle, maybe one or two years
ago, it's definitely really pushing ahead with that now. It's overtaken the MG ZS, which has been,
I don't even know, the top selling small SUV for quite some time. Well, and yeah, it's,
it hasn't been updated yet like that. I think they're talking update for the ZS. So the ZS launched,
the ZS hybrid just launched the new generation one and the Pec, yes, you think of the HS,
which has also launched, but there's a hybrid version of that coming. But yeah, so the ZS has
launched first with hybrid versions at the very end of last year, but they're quite a bit more
expensive than the old ZST, which started around the 22 driveway or 23 driveway point.
So there's now petrol versions of that coming in that started around the mid $20,000 points,
a bigger car, much nicer inside, much, a much needed update to the tech suite. And it still did
fairly well with 1700 units ahead of the Toyota Corolla Mazda CX-3. But like you say, that you
look at this top 20 list, you've got, you know, a number of stalwarts, X-Trail, Tucson, Triton,
BT-50, Jolly on Everest Mazda 3. All of these have been, with the exception of the shark,
have all been top 20 players for the longest time. We're just sort of seeing them shuffle here and
there in recent months. So, you know, it's an interesting time and the months ahead might see
some more shuffling or some new players come into the fold. We don't know not sure yet.
All right. So let's just quickly recap highlights before we get into the people who,
well, the brands who have not done so well this month. Kia, I think big shout out,
like I genuinely stand by, I don't think they make a bad car in their lineup. I think every car is
quite good. And so I think well deserved to get into third place with that one. Yeah, numbers
overall up, but like trending, I think the year is trending downwards. That's the big one. And
BYD finally coming online with that Shark 6 and actually being able to deliver their cars,
not have them sitting on boats offshore somewhere, means that they're, I think we will see them easily
top 10 next month. So something to look out for. Let's head to the bottom end for the people or
the brands that are not doing quite as well. LeapMota 29. I think, I don't know. I don't know
enough about LeapMota yet to say, to probably comment on it, but I feel like they expected to do
more than 29 deliveries in a month. Yeah, it's interesting because that car came in, you know,
it's a mid-sized SUV. Electric to start off with. They've got that extended range,
extended range, extended version that's just launching this month as well,
you know, both around the $45,000 mark. And, you know, even if the styling is a little bit bland
on paper, it should be something that people get really interested in. I don't know whether it's
the looks. I don't know whether they haven't been able to roll them out at dealerships yet.
But I do find it interesting that LeapMota is not really made much of an impact yet. Maybe the
extended range one being sort of like a USP might change that. But yeah, they're only a few months
in market as well. So it's not really easy to tell where they were before. Yeah. Zika is another one,
99 deliveries in February. Same amount as Peugeot. I don't know who that is good for and who that is
bad for, to be honest. Well, considering Peugeot is down 51%, I think Peugeot will be more
disappointed with that result. But considering, so Zika currently only have a couple of cars in
their model lineup. And the one we've just recently tested, we've driven both variants of the X.
Yep. We've got a full video review of the rear wheel drive Zika X, which I think is technically
the base model. And it's a Volvo and it's a whole bunch of different brands going on there.
We've got a video on the YouTube channel. I will put a link in the description for you to check out.
But look there, you know, miles behind Volvo still. Polestar, where's Polestar sit on this list?
Actually can't find Polestar. It may not be in this table because it's from VFX. Unless you've
heard it in the... No, you're right. I can't. I don't actually have Polestar's numbers there.
Oh, no. Polestar's there. 125. Oh, so there you go. So Zika's still trailing behind. I don't know
what they, whether they expected more as well, because the idea with that Zika X is to sort of
undercut the price of the Polestar. Well, the Volvo. Yeah, the Volvo X30 is the main one. And then
I think there's the smarts are also the hashtag one and three are also on the same platform. I think,
you know, Zika's got very early days, they're still working on their brand recognition. I think
they started to, in addition to trying to figure out their own dealer network, they're also tacking
onto Volvo showrooms at the moment. They look cool. You know, I had a different, I had the Zika X
all wheel drive recently. It gets you a lot of looks. I had this sort of ivory colored one with a
swish interior. Looks really cool. And I have a written review of that coming soon. But I think,
you know, it just comes down to brand recognition. And it's, you know, the people probably be wondering
what it is. It's one thing to say it's the same stuff underneath as Volvo and Polestar. But whether
that resonates with people that are buying, you know, Zika's trying to market itself as the premium
Chinese brand as well, which is sort of a new space. There's a lot of firsts for them that
they're probably just working through and trying to get their feet on the ground. But, you know,
100, well, there are about 100 registrations of a brand new vehicle from a brand new brand in
market. It's not a bad result, I'd say. No, you're probably right. I think I do think that that X is
a little bit pricey considering what like the tech that you're getting with it, you have to sort of
spend extra to get a bolt on tech, like, you know, seat memories and things like that. So
look, we'll see, we'll see how they go. And this is the thing we're going to see a lot of these
sort of brands come through the door this year. So there'll be a lot of these conversations.
I just want to quickly point out before we move on as well that Citroën still managed to sell or
register four vehicles despite having left the market. I feel like someone might have just found
them. It's like a zombie. I do also have to point out Skoda down 41 and a half percent
year on you with 300 tour deliveries. I mean, that can't be good for the Volkswagen group. Their
numbers are not looking amazing because Cooper cells are down. I think the Volkswagen cells are
down. It's just it must be tough times over there at the moment. I think so. It has been tough in the
lead up to now, but all of their brands are launching quite a number of new products in the
coming months. We've had a number of launches recently. We've got a number of invites coming
up. I'll be driving the ID4 and ID5. Josh, I'll be driving. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I think
we're talking about this. We have pricing. They're here. I think they're getting to customers in April.
Skoda has an all-new Kodiak and a facelifted Octavia, two of their top sellers that are coming back.
Cooper, Leon and 4Mentor, their facelifts are coming later, I think, like May, June. They're
not far off. Because there's been such a long lead time between when these vehicles were launched
globally and when they're coming here, people are waiting. That obviously means that sales
sales are reduced. It's actually been the case for a number of brands, not just those guys.
So, yeah, Citroen is a dead brand walking still. Yeah. Big shout out to McLaren. 350% increase
on deliveries. Must have been Grand Prix month because they delivered nine cars. So, well done
to McLaren. Big shout out. I know they watched the podcast. Look, that pretty much wraps up.
Vfax, I do want to give you the opportunity, James, to point out anything that you caught your eye,
surprised you, didn't surprise you, but maybe should have. I don't know, anything like that.
Well, I know that we talk a lot about electric vehicle sales going down and it's still continuing
to go that way. I think according to numbers, we've got down 43.8%. But again, off the back of our
discussion about FEVs before, FEVs were up 346% last month, probably off the back of the shark
with 4,871 units. So, within 800 units of electric vehicle sales for the month, which
shows you how the market has very quickly changed in the last 12 or so months. From the
naysayers saying that FEV was a stepping stone technology that has no place here, so now
people buying them in much greater numbers and that will probably continue to be the trend.
It'll be interesting to see in the next six or so months, with Tesla launching a new Model Y
and BYDs on slot of new products. They've got C-Line 7 coming, Sharks launch. They've probably
got other cars on the way as well. Well, they've got a few updates to the shark already they're
talking about. So, it could be really interesting to see how that changes things.
Yeah, I do. Sorry, I neglected to point out Tesla, which is remiss of me because their sales are
down 71.9%. They sold more shark sixes than they did Tesla's and look, potentially people waiting
for the new Model Y, but I just feel that their PR is not great at the moment.
And I think also, while the Model Y update seems to be very promising and a very substantial update
in response to feedback from owners of the first car, there are just so many more options now.
And so, whether it's the PR stuff, if we're going to be careful about how we talk about it,
or just the fact that the cars kind of look a little bit old now, and there's a lot of other
products coming into market, there's just more competition. And while that's great for the
consumer, it's also not a great thing for brands if they're not able to get in the mix soon enough.
Yep. All right. Well, what do you guys think? Any surprises that caught your eye this month?
If you want to read the full list and all of the juicy, numbery detail, there is a link in
the description to check out Will's deep dive article on Vfax. But we are going to talk about
our long term. So I'm going to hand it over to you first, James, because you've been driving a
Harvey, I think. What a Honda launch that car is. Hi, my name is Harvey. Yes. So we picked up
recently a Honda HRV, the new hybrid base model. So it's like 40 grand drive away for this car.
It's in a lovely, you know, sagey metallic green, which I really like. Yeah, this is very,
I'm not sure if that's the exact same car. Might be the same car. Might be the same car,
but it looks just like this. And it's had some running feature changes in the sense that, you
know, the old base model, the petrol one, missed out on a lot of stuff, and it sort of forced you
to move up another 10 ish grand to the hybrid. Whereas this one is a nice step. So you've got
things like blind spot monitoring, you know, a nice new infotainment system with Google built in,
it and obviously a cheaper entry point for that hybrid system, which is really good.
It's nice and talky. It's very, very efficient. And, you know, it's, it's, I've not spent too
much time in the new HRV, but because it's so tall and boxy, but like really compact,
it's just a really easy car to live with, you know, driving into the Melbourne CBD every day
with lots of traffic and, you know, various parts of Melbourne's city roads that, you know,
pinch you in the sides in bigger cars. So it's a really nice, easy car to live with and it's got
good space in the second row for two people only. Yes. Yeah, exactly. And it's got the magic seat
function, which is a big draw card for them as well. And the boot's nice and big and just,
you know, it just does the job. So have been really enjoying that so far, maybe about four weeks into
our loan of our three months with it. And we'll have some more content going live on the site soon.
But you know, first impressions have been really good so far. And I guess this new entry point
price-wise is a nice competitor to something like a Yaris Cross, which has been very, very popular
with a hybrid option. So yeah, definitely want to keep an eye out for on the website because we've
got some more stuff coming. I mean, look, personally, I think this looks better and has a much nicer
interior than a Yaris Cross. And I, this sounds really like plebby of me, but I really like the
cloth seats in this thing. Oh yeah, I like the cloth seats. I think that rather than a leather
interior, I think it's, I don't know, it's probably some recycled interior or something they do,
but it's really like a pleasant little car to be. Absolutely. And like, you know, I know a lot of
people in Australia really love leather when you have kids because it's easy to wipe things off.
You have spills or chuckies or whatever. But you know, in, we've been driving these cars in very
hot Australian summers. And so having a fabric seat that doesn't retain heat, burn your ass when
you sit down, burn your, excuse me, burn your butt when you sit down. It's definitely very
nice and just very comfortable. The steering's lovely. You know, everything's just nice in
this car. It's sort of like, I'm trying to fit, it's almost like Japanese Volkswagen a little bit
in that everything just is nice and, and it just works. And that's the simplicity of this car is,
is what is really great about it. And to Honda's credit, the previous generation Hondas,
and this sounds really silly, but the previous generation Hondas infotainment systems felt
like MS-DOS. Oh, it's rubbish. And then this thing was a wholesale change and it's this really
nice, smooth, easy to use infotainment system. And I think sometimes we overlook that working in,
in our area of automotive, that we, we focus on the car's handling dynamics. And we forget
about the sort of back-to-basic things. And the infotainment in this is absolutely fantastic.
One nitpick I do have with it is when you're in B mode, which is like the,
Yep, the regen mode.
Single pedaling sort of driving, you can't, you can't put cruise control on. I find that really
odd because the car, I'm about to talk about the X-Trail e-power, you can.
Which I find really nice, especially if you're on like a motorway or something,
where you're just cruising on cruise control and you see there's a bit of a towel back ahead of you,
you just cancel cruise control and single pedal does the work. Slows you down, gets a nice regen,
whereas this, you, you don't have that. You'd have to shift out of drive. It sounds silly,
but it's one of those things I just, I don't quite understand why, because every other sort of hybrid
or plug-in hybrid I've driven allows you to, to activate cruise control.
I don't think it has a dedicated EV mode, but neither, which is another interesting thing that
some other rivals do, but yeah, I guess maybe that's something they can work on for the next one.
Yeah, so, Hondo, if you're listening. But yeah, I want to talk about the X-Trail e-power,
which is what I've been driving. Now, this is, this is quite a fascinating car to me.
Prior to this, I had the cashkai e-power, which is the same principles behind it. So basically,
it's an electric car with a generator in the front that powers the battery and the battery
powers the wheels. Straight off the bat, I'm going to say I prefer the cashkai to the X-Trail
for a couple of reasons. One, the cashkai was just front-wheel drive, which meant that you got this
amazing like thousand-odd kilometer range out of a tank of petrol. And two, I just found it just,
it's just overall just a little bit more comfortable, whereas the X-Trail, which shares a platform with
the Outlander, it's, and the Outlander, it's sort of built as a seven-seat platform. I feel
this thing's not quite as comfortable to get around in as the cashkai, and because it's
all-wheel drive, which I find completely unnecessary for this car, it munches petrol compared to the
cashkai. But other than that, it's actually a really nice car. It has, it's really efficient.
I just said it's not very efficient. It is still efficient by comparison to its petrol
twin. But, you know, it also has heaps of power. So when you put your foot down and drive away,
like it can pull and pull and pull because it's got that EV punch behind it. But you mentioned
the seats, like the leather seats in this thing are absolutely horrendous on a summer day. They're
like that plasticky leather, and they don't have cooling, and you just, you get in and on like a
36-degree day, and it's just the worst place to be because it also has a big glass roof.
So look, if they just had cooling seats, it'd be fine, or a cloth seat option, but
oh, that, like, it's a great car. I honestly don't know why people would buy a RAV4
over this if they actually drove them back to back because I genuinely think this is a much
nicer car. Yeah, I've driven your long term over a couple of times in recent months, and, you know,
I think I've copped a lot of flak on the website because I often recommend this car as something
to look at as an alternative to some of the top-selling mid-size SUVs, whether it's a RAV4
hybrid, a Tesla Model Y, things like that. You know, it's got the EV driving experience that
people really like because it's got that really smooth, instant, seamless talk delivery that
people love about EVs. It does have a petrol generator up the front, which sometimes fires
to life, and you can sort of hear it. Oh, this I found, actually, compared to the cash card,
this can be a little thrashy because I think it has to work a little bit harder to get
driving before. Yeah, but other than that, like, it's just a very nice, easy car to drive and live
with. It's big enough that the e-power admittedly doesn't come with seven seats in Australia,
which is a crying shame, but it's a big five-seater that, you know, for two to three kids in the
back and all their stuff, plenty of room. You know, the leather, I know you say it's a bit
annoying in the heat, but the quilted Napa leather interior with all the soft touch points,
the big screens and everything, it definitely feels really nice inside. And, you know, if the looks
appeal to you, it's a bit rugged looking. This one is not the e-power. This one's the N-trek
from what it looks like, but, you know, they all sort of look the same. But yeah, I really
enjoy that car. And now with a 10-year warranty, there's an added peace of mind for people that
are looking to step into something like this, as opposed to a top-selling competitor. So,
you know, I really enjoy this car. But like you say, I wish they did the single motor version
as well, because that would be much more efficient. And the seven-seat option, I think, is a big
miss to begin with, given, you know, all of its hybrid competitors, the CR-V, the RAV4,
and some of the Chinese stuff as well. None of them offer three rows in the hybrid version.
So the fact that Nissan has this available in their global portfolio and hasn't done it,
in an effort to maybe protect the Pathfinder, which doesn't sell in very big numbers and
doesn't have a hybrid option either, just seems like an odd product planning decision for me.
But otherwise, a really good car. Well, and to that point, like, I don't need seven seats,
like, I haven't got any kids. But the boot space in this isn't, you know, it doesn't benefit from
it, because it's got the silly split floor thing. So even if you lift off the covers, like, you
still can't, you still don't really get extra space unless you've got small things. So, yeah,
obviously, it's just a shared platform, and it's easy just to do that. But yeah, I think
they may as well just put seven seats in it at that point. And then it also stops the back from
flapping around when you go over bumps, which they do if you've got nothing in it. So,
but look, on the whole, I think it's great. And personally, my money on the table, I would have
that over a RAV4, just because- I think I'd say the same. Yeah. And one, you're not buying a rental
car. And two, I just think overall, the experience of driving is a lot nicer. But yeah, that pretty
much brings us to the end this week, James. You're a bit quieter this week, is my understanding.
This week, yes. But it all starts picking up again next week. So between now and when we probably
film the next episode, I'll be driving the new Volvo EX90 in Adelaide. That's the big one.
The big one with the little hat on, the LiDAR sensor. I'm also doing the Kia EV3 local launch,
which is very exciting because I got to do the global driving career. So I'll be able to see,
you know, what they've done with the local tuning and things like that. And they just priced it,
starts from like $47,000, which is pretty affordable for, you know, Celtos size EV.
And what else have I got? I'm doing the ID4 and ID5 launch in Canberra the week after that. So
very busy. And the rest of the team has a number, there's a number of other launches coming like
new Ram 1500 with the inline six twin turbo. Yes, stand by on the YouTube channel because we've
got some great video content coming with that in the near future. So that's going to be really
interesting because I'm not sold, but that's the right move for Ram. I do understand like emissions
and things like that, but like a twin turbo straight six over the V8. I can't always want
the V8. It's just a bit more charm to it. Yeah, they have a hybrid version. What more do you need?
But look, that brings us to the end this week. Thanks again for coming along, mate. I'm glad
that we've all recovered from the big weekend. It was a big weekend for a lot of us. I think
a very sad weekend. And a crazy race as well. Crazy race, you know, but it's also, you know,
it would suck if it was boring. So glad there was a bit of spice to it. Unfortunately,
Oscar didn't win. I will keep the hat nearby just in case Oscar gets a leg up in China next
weekend and then I will wear it. And that's my promise to everyone I will wear the McLaren hat
the entire time if Oscar gets a win. But anyway, thank you everyone for joining us. If you have
any thoughts, feedback, ideas that you'd like us to cover, leave a comment or drop us an email
podcast at carexperton.com.au. If you haven't already subscribed to the YouTube channel or
hit that follow button on your preferred audio streaming platform. But until next time,
we have a CarExpert podcast. Take it easy.
About this episode
A lively discussion unfolds as hosts Sean and James compare the Toyota RAV4 and Ford Ranger, exploring their sales performance and market trends. They delve into highlights from the Australian Grand Prix, including Audi's return to Formula One and Ferrari's unveiling of the F80 hybrid hypercar. The episode also covers the latest V-Fax sales figures, revealing shifts in the automotive market, with a focus on hybrid and electric vehicles. Insights on long-term test drives of the Honda HR-V and Nissan X-Trail e-Power provide listeners with practical perspectives on these popular models.
VFACTS February is out and the battle to be Australia's favourite car isn't really slowing down. Sean and James run through all the numbers from VFACTS including who is winning and who is losing out, PLUS the boys talk about they cars they have been driving and James tells us about the coolest cars he saw at the Formula 1 over the weekend.
You can find the CarExpert Podcast on your favourite podcast platform. If in doubt, simply click on the RSS feed below, or follow the links to the Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts applications to subscribe.
