The latest Chinese car brands to reach Australia have sharpened their pencil on prices – and thrown in extras – to lure buyers away from each other, as even more new marques close in on showrooms.
Electric Cars
Competition among Australia's newest electric-car brands from China has hit a new gear, in the battle to win over buyers from Tesla and established marques.
No fewer than 10 new car brands have joined Australian roads in the past 12 months, yet vehicle sales only grew by 1.7 per cent last year – and are poised to fall in 2025.
Many of the latest Chinese entrants are fighting for attention in the same category – electric family SUVs – with unknown brand names and similarly styled vehicles.
"It seems like we have a new brand entering the Australian market every month with a new EV on offer," James Voortman, CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA), told Drive.
"These brands will be facing a range of challenges including lack of brand awareness, cooling sentiment on BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] and strong competition from established EV players like BYD and Tesla.”
Not all of the discounts apply to electric cars – there are offers on utes from newcomer JAC, for example – but most new brands in the market have launched with battery-powered cars.
And the vast majority of the deals apply to vehicles ordered and/or delivered – or finance contracts signed – by June 30, 2025, with the terms and conditions for all of the offers mentioned in this story listed on each brand's website.
Deepal – a Chinese brand launched late last year – is offering its S07 SUV for $49,990 drive-away before metallic paint, a saving of about $8500 in New South Wales.
Geely is offering a $2000 bonus on vehicles traded in, a free Mode 2 charging cable, and either five years of free servicing, or a $2000 gift card.
Leapmotor is marketing a 1.9 per cent comparison rate on its C10 hybrid and electric SUV, while XPeng is continuing its 10-year vehicle warranty promotion until the end of the financial year, unless extended.
Entry-level Pro+ versions of the Smart #1 and #3 are being offered with free registration, stamp duty, third-party insurance and dealer delivery, as well as three years of scheduled servicing included, all valued at "over $5500".
BYD is focusing on finance offers for its plug-in hybrids, rather than cash discounts, with a 1.99 per cent interest rate on Shark 6 utes, a 2.99 per cent comparison rate on the Sealion 6 Essential, and 3.99 per cent on the Sealion 6 Premium.
All three offers apply to a 36-month finance term and no deposit, with the Shark 6 adding a requirement for an ABN purchase.
JAC is offering $3000 for first-time buyers of its T9 ute, or a $3000 trade-in bonus, with both also offered with a $500 fuel voucher.
Many of these brands have already cut RRPs on their models vehicles over the past 12 months, but the latest offers go a step further in the run to June 30.
Other deals being offered for EOFY include a finance offer on the Jaecoo J7 petrol SUV, and drive-away discounts on a variety of models from MG, GWM, LDV and Chery.
New car brands aren't the only ones running special offers in an attempt to clear old stock of electric cars.
Toyota – which seldom runs nationwide discounts – is marketing a 1.9 per cent comparison rate on 2023- and 2024-plate bZ4X electric cars through its finance division, with a free 7.4kW home wallbox charger thrown in.
Ford is offering its slow-selling Mustang Mach-E electric SUV from $63,000 drive-away – down about $7000 in its cheapest form – while even Tesla is running discounts of $2500 to $3500 on new, in-stock Model 3 sedans.
It comes amid a downturn in sales of electric cars, both those wearing a Tesla badge, and those without, the EV market down 44 per cent this year.
"Gone are the days of Australia being described as a market undersupplied with EVs," said Voortman.
"We now have an incredible range of EVs being supplied to the Australian market at lower price points than we have ever seen before."
Note: In the interest of brevity, there may be further terms and conditions applicable to the offers above that we've not mentioned. For full details on every promotion referenced in this story, see each manufacturer's website.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
