BYD REFUNDS Buyers! Aussies Rethink EVs + NEW $50K Ute Undercuts Shark 6

Hi, I'm Fian, and BYD has just made its first major fumble in Australia.There has been some other stuff overseas, but over 1 ,200 Australians paid good money for a brand new BYD.

But what they took home was not what they paid for.And the timing couldn't be worse because I've been sitting on some internal data that we get here at Carsales that no one else has access to.And it makes for interesting reading.It shows that EV consideration in Australia has actually dropped.Shock horror.So the question is what this news means for a brand betting almost everything on the EV revolution.

Other stories we've got a brand new PHEV ute rolling into Aussie showrooms soon and it costs less than than 50 grand.Only one problem.Nobody knows the brand who builds it.Plus Audi's rock crushing four wheel drive experiment just got a little bit more real.And stick around to the end because one Australian state has just introduced a law that will fine parents for the bad behaviour of their kids.I better start saving.

I got three of the suckers and they're all psychos.Only kidding.I know you watch kids.Love you all.You're the best.Oh, and stick around for Rapid Fire right at the very end of the ep where we catch you up on all the news in the industry.

Rapid Fire.Anyway, it's a big week for your wallet.It's a big week for your driveway.There's a lot to get through, so buckle up.Alright, lead story.Last week we told you that BYD's big boss Wang Chuanfu is shooting for the number one spot in five years or by 2030 -ish.

They want to depose Toyota.

But BYD this week gave us a pretty clear look at why that might be harder than it sounds.Turns out more than 1200 Aussies paid top dollar for their new BYDs.And guess what?They weren't 2026, they were 2025.Now that might not sound like a massive indiscretion, but that gives you a resale hit and a depreciation hit.So if you pay for a 2026 model,

year vehicle and you get a 2025 model year, that stings.Now, when the ABC started asking questions, BYD shifted position.Initially, it offered a piecemeal cashback about $1 ,100, something like that.And now, it has decided to refund all 1 ,265 affected customers.If they want a full refund, they can now get it.The cause of the issue, a clerical error.

BYD Australia's PR Director, Paul Ellis told the ABC and I quote, it was an administrative error that occurred and there was no deceit.

Now the carmaker said that the refunds were locked in before the interview even happened but it kind of makes you question well why did you start giving them you know, that $1 ,100 in the first place, why didn't you just give them all the refunds straight away?

And look, this is no scandal.This is no diesel gate.And a slip -up like this barely dents an established brand.But it's a different equation for a Chinese manufacturer still earning its stripes.Toyota could probably shrug this off.BYD?

They can't.Not yet.

It's not an isolated wobble either.There were, of course, those allegations in Brazil when they were building the new factory.Worth looking that one up.Plus, BYD's local warranty terms drew criticism from journalists.The warranty was not great.Then they fixed it in April 2025 and even backdated it for models back to about 2022.

So credit where credit's due.And look, none of this points to malice.It points to a young brand still learning what customer first looks like in a very mature market like Australia, a market where buyers are very well researched.So Toyota didn't become the world's biggest car maker simply by selling amazing cars at a super cheap price.In fact, they're quite expensive now.It got there by earning buyers trust.

And before you call me a Toyota apologist, go watch my Prado review.In fact, watch the follow -up too, that's even better.This is the one where the Prado completely died and then Toyota said it was my fault.Anyway,if BYD wants to be the number one in the world by 2030, it might want to start by hiring a few more pencil pushers in strategically important markets like Australia.

Oh, and while we're on BYD, one more quick story.It's luxury brand Denza just rolled out the Z. Wait a minute.Isn't there another car?Called the Zed?Yes, Nissan will be stoked with this.I don't know what's going to happen.

Will there be legal action?Anyway, Denza claims this is one of the fastest production cars on the planet.

And question is, should we believe them?So on paper, it's wild.We've got 1180 kilowatts, 1200 newton meters, zero to 100 kilometers an hour in two seconds.That is a body crushing amount of acceleration.There's even a flagship version coming that will potentially drop that zero to 100 time to 1 .7 seconds and is going to take a crack at the Nürburgring EV lap record.It's an astonishing car, clearly, if the numbers hold up.

But given BYD's recent track record of labeling its own vehicles, you'll forgive me if I would like to see that stopwatch myself first.Okay, a quick reality check for anyone who thinks the electric revolution is a done deal.

New car sales survey data of over 500 new car buyers over just one month has some interesting and rather contradictory data.Normally our surveys get about 2 ,000 people.We do them over three months, but because of the way the market's been moving, the war in Iran, interest rates, we're doing some much more regular and frequent surveys.

And this one is fascinating because almost 30 % of Aussie drivers surveyed in June expect to still be in a petrol car come 2035.Now that's significant because it's a massive jump from just 22 % when we did a survey the month prior.That's a big jump in a short window.The intention to buy an EV, meanwhile, went the other way down almost 10 % in a month.So down from 36%, only 26 % now expect to bedriving a pure electric vehicle a decade from now.

So, what happened?

Well, back in April and May, the previous month's survey, The War in the Middle East, sent fuel prices skyrocketing.People panicked and suddenly everybody wanted out of pure petrol.Or certainly those that were looking to buy a new car at the time.

Fast forward a couple of months and fuel prices have settled, the interest rates have stabilised and buyers seem to be drifting back to familiar fuel sipping territory.Turns out EV enthusiasm might be less about the tech and saving the environment and more about what's happening at the petrol bowser.The barriers to EV adoption haven't moved much either.Our survey data asked people, you know, what's the biggest barrier to buying an EV?

The lack of public charging infrastructure is still the biggest hurdle to buying an EV.But here's an interesting little factoid.Range anxiety is actually creeping up again.It started going down, which is understandable because so many EVs now can go along.Why?Like we're talking up to 800 kilometers now.

So range anxiety, almost 40 % are worried about how far they'll go before they need to recharge.

But while EV consideration has dropped, hybrid intention is climbing and it's now sitting at a quarter of all people surveyed, a quarter of all buyers.And that lines up with what's actually happening in showrooms.Yes, EVs had a record month in June last month.Roughly 23 % of all new car sales were EVs.

That's almost a quarter.That's big.And it sounds like a revolution.So regular hybrids like, you know, your Toyota RAV4s, and stuff, they were up 35%, but plug -in hybrids were up 158%.

That is big, and that is worth noting.So maybe the real story isn't that Australia is going pure electric.It's that Australia is going hybrid.

with petrol electric cars.That idea that a lot of Aussies expect to be driving a petrol car in 2035 could very well be a hybrid petrol.Prediction time.I reckon EV sales will cool in the second half of 2026 and PHEVs will continue to boom.And if my predictionwrong, you can lambast me in the comments.

Bring it on.Also, make sure you subscribe so you get the update whenever we drop a new episode, usually Thursday 5 p .m., but sometimes it moves around a little bit.

So yeah, check it out.Right, Audi's been telling us for almost a year now that it's considering a proper G -Class and Range Rover rival.We first asked about a year ago.

They said, yeah, we're thinking about it.We asked them again back in March and they said it's still under consideration.So there's still no official green light for production.

However, that hasn't stopped the Internet from designing what it thinks it will look like.And I find this intriguing.

This particular CGI render, this fan fiction, if you like, blends in the new design ethos seen in the Nuvolari supercar that Audi has said all new Audis will look like this.It's got a weird sort of mustachey thing.grill.It's very different from the single frame grill.

Anyway, this Russian mob that does these renders, Kalisa, has been doing this stuff for years and these unofficial renders are usually on the money.

They have a very good track record.The latest Lexus GX from 2024, they hit the nail on the head with that one.They even got the Kia Tasman right.Are Kia Tasmans even sold in Russia?I need an assistant.Can anyone tell me that?

No, I don't need an assistant.They're not sold in Russia because Kia suspended operations in Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine.But back to Audi's mud plugging luxury experiment.

And what we see here looks pretty tough.You've got skid plates, all -terrain tires, chunky alloys, even a spare wheel hanging off the tailgate.

It's boxy.It's bold.A penny for your thoughts.I'd love to know what you think of this particular design and if it can challenge something like the G -Class or the Range Rover, would you buy one?O. Gurnot Dolna told us in March, and I quote, if we do something like that, the four -wheel drive, it is only thinkable to do it on a platform that is already there.Translation, if it happens, it's based on the Scout brand.

and it's gonna be electrified from day one.So Audi's told us to sit tight twice now.Third time's a charm, watch this space.Ever heard of JAC, J -A -C, no?Well, that could be about to change.This challenger brand has just confirmed the price of its new PHEV petrol electric ute in Australia and it's going to raise eyebrows.

So the Jack Hunter PHEV makes more power and torque than the Shark BYD6, the top selling Fairview ute in Australia.We tested a prototype of this Jack Hunter back in May and we gave it 69 out of 100.

Strong power generation, solid off -road chops, decent towing and payload.Good early signs.But it has subpar ride handling and interior finish.Needs to fix up some little bits here.

But that almost doesn't matter in some ways because that price is razor sharp.The Hunter Pro is $49 ,988.The Hunter X, the top spec, is $54 ,844.That is eight grand cheaper than the cheapest BYD Shark 6 Premium, and as mentioned, it outpowers it.

Stats on the screen, have a look.But here's something we're waiting for.

We are gonna get a local tune on the suspension, something that we didn't have when we tested the prototype.To be honest, I don't know why they let us test this prototype.It wasn't great.And this updated Aussie suspension has been tuned by none other than Michael Barber.He is an ex -Holden engineer, and they reckon, Jack reckons, they've had 100 ,000 kilometers of local testing.So, can it bust into the top 10 sale chart like the shark did, I reckon it'll struggle.

But I'm still very keen to put it through the ringer.Stay tuned for that one.Attention Queensland parents, your kid's e -bike is now your problem.Yep, Queensland just dropped some of the toughest e -bike and e -scooter laws in the country.Let's start with the headline grabber.From August 31, e -bike riders need to be at least 16 and hold a valid

driver's license.And of course, a learner's permit counts here.

No license, no ride.And if your underage kid gets caught breaking the rules anyway, parents will cop the fines.Congratulations, mum and dad are paying for it.

But that's just the entree, it gets better or worse.depending on your views.Police can now seize and even destroy illegal e -bikes and e -scooters.

So if you've got it jailbroken and it can go way faster than the manufacturer's settings, gone.No appeals, no second chances.And how's this?Riders will also be subject to random breath testing.Same 0 .05 limit as full -blown motorists.Yes, really, on a bike.

But honestly, I reckon if you're 14 and you're blowing 0 .06 on your e -bike, you've probably got bigger problems than fast powertrains.toys.Speed wise, 25 kilometers an hour is your ceiling on the road, dropping to a pedestrian friendly 12 kilometers an hour on footpaths and shared paths.And you're also restricted to roads capped at 60 kilometers an hour or under.

And the penalties for all of it just got significantly heavier.

Simply put, if there's an e -bike or e -scooter in your garage, it might be time to have a family meeting.And honestly, I don't think these rules are going to stay in Queensland for that long.All right, time for rapid fire.Let's rip through the rest of the headlines in the auto industry.

The McLaren 788H S. Fare thee well McLaren 720S family.Which is sad because Exotica is cool.But it also means a next generation McLaren is in development.Get excited.

MG's Goodwood Concepts.MG rolled out two concepts of Goodwood.The Go!Exclamation mark.A retro cuboid electric hatch that looks like a ripoff of the Renault 5.MG also showed the Cyber Concept, a performance SUV previewing MG's future flagship.

Looks like a snooze fest, but we'll see.

Mercedes AMG CLA 45 now fully electric.Yep, for the first time ever, the baby AMG goes electric.It's not confirmed for Australia yet, but don't be shocked if it lands here in 2027.Geely EX2 pricing for Australia, China's best -selling car.been priced for Australia and it's crazy cheap, less than $27 ,000.For an EV, not too bad.

Toyota RAV4 PHEV has arrived.We've reviewed it.Tony tested it and he gave it a pretty solid score.It's good, but not great.We also tested Toyota's new EV wagon, the BZ4X Touring.Looks awesome, but will anyone buy a wagon?

Everyone's buying SUVs.

And lastly, Dubai Police Force, they have ditched Lambos for BYD SUVs.Very disappointing.I want to go to Dubai just to be chased by a Lambo.by a Lambo copper.

And that's it for this week.BYD is writing checks.Jack is throwing down the price gauntlet and Queensland kids are on notice.

As always, we love the comments.We love seeing the conversations that get started.So feel free to get involved and you know, nothing's off limits and we love responding.Stay tuned for the next episode and I'll see you next week.