1. Isuzu pulls the pin on an electric D-Max for Australia
Isuzu Ute Australia has officially walked away from bringing the all-electric D-Max ute to Australia — because buyers just aren't asking for one, and the dollars don't stack up. Executive general manager Rod Caldwell told Drive the overseas D-Max EV's 263km WLTP range would have been a deal-breaker, saying battery power is "just not the answer today" — even though the electric version matches diesel for 3.5-tonne towing and 1-tonne payload. UK pricing suggested it would land at roughly $100,000 in Australian money, which killed it on value too. That leaves three electric utes in Australia: the Toyota HiLux BEV ($74,990 before on-roads), the MG U9 EV ($78,990) and the KGM Musso EV ($60,000). Isuzu insists it's not going anywhere: "As long as they sell utes in Australia, we'll sell them."
Source: Drive.com.au
2. The cheapest Tesla ever sold in Australia: 2027 Model 3 RWD at $45,900
Tesla has launched its most affordable car in Australia to date — the 2027 Model 3 RWD at $45,900 before on-road costs, a full $9,000 under the existing Premium RWD. It keeps the Premium's 208kW motor and 62.5kWh LFP battery, but claimed range climbs from 520km to 572km (WLTP) thanks to new wheels and tyres. To hit the price Tesla binned front-seat ventilation, the 8-inch rear touchscreen, heated rear seats and — yes — FM and DAB radio, leaving streaming as the only radio option. That hurts less with a 16-inch centre screen and vehicle-to-load (extra-cost adapter) now standard across the range. Order one today — test drives later this month, deliveries before year's end.
Source: Drive.com.au
3. Switzerland's first robotaxi takes to the road in Zurich
Three electric self-driving cars are now taking public bookings in Zurich's Furttal valley under the Iamo pilot — Switzerland's first robotaxi service open to the public. The cars serve around 100 designated stops across four municipalities, running daily from 1pm to 5pm, with a safety driver still behind the wheel for now. The headline number is the fare: CHF 4.70 plus CHF 0.38 per kilometre means a 10km ride costs about CHF 8.50 — against roughly CHF 44 in a regular Zurich cab. The project is run by Swiss Transit Lab with the cantons of Zurich and Aargau plus Swiss Federal Railways, and the end goal is remotely-supervised driverless minibuses — once federal approval lands. Europe's been slow off the mark while Waymo and China's Apollo Go run millions of rides.
Source: Geneva Times
4. Minneapolis mayor vetoes America's first "driver monitor" robotaxi rule
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on October 2 vetoed a city council ordinance — passed 7-6 the day before — that would have made Minneapolis the first US city to require a person in the driver's seat of a robotaxi. The rule would have forced AV companies to get a city licence and put a paid, licensed monitor behind the wheel. Frey called it a "backdoor ban", saying the city stays open to new transport tech. It got weird when councillor Jason Chavez argued for the rule by citing cats allegedly killed by autonomous vehicles — "Cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles, and I have a cat." The 7-6 margin makes an override unlikely, so driverless stays driverless in Minneapolis for now.
Source: Let's Data Science
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