1. Chery wants its Aussie models to tow and carry more
Chery knows what Aussie buyers check first: how much it tows and how much it carries. For the Chery Stockman ute, the team is still chasing a one-tonne payload for the diesel plug-in hybrid — preliminary Australian figures sit at 765 kg, just under the BYD Shark 6 Premium's 790 kg. Over on the iCaur side, the larger V27 SUV is rated to tow about 1.6 tonnes, which the brand admits isn't enough, and an improvement is promised. A Ford Everest with the genuine tow pack is rated to 3,500 kg, so there's a gap to close. No revised V27 figure or timing is confirmed yet, and final Australian specifications are still to come. The electric V25 debuts the iCaur brand here in early 2027, with an extended-range version and the V27 to follow later in the year.
Source: CarExpert
2. Polestar blasts the EV tax wind-down as 'not particularly clever'
Polestar Australia isn't holding back on the federal government's plan to wind down the fringe benefits tax exemption for electric cars — managing director Scott Maynard called it “half-arsed” and “not particularly clever”. He told Drive the step-down to a $75,000 price cap from 1 April 2027 only really bites on cars priced between $75,000 and $91,387, which will still get a 25 per cent exemption. Federal figures put the extra revenue at $1.94 billion over the next four years. Polestar also flagged the uneven treatment: utes stay FBT-exempt with limited personal-use rules, with no plan to wind that back for business owners. In other words, EV buyers cop it while the ute exemption stays put.
Source: Drive
3. XPeng clears citywide robotaxi trials in Guangzhou
XPeng's robotaxi arm, Yoyo, has been cleared to run Level 4 autonomous driving trials across Guangzhou, its home city. The approval moves it beyond internal testing into real-world operations — the part where XPeng finds out if the service can pay its way. Access opens gradually at first, through invitation codes, rather than to everyone at once. XPeng got a Guangzhou road-testing permit in January and set up a dedicated robotaxi division in March, and it has previously targeted passenger services without safety drivers in 2027. Still early, but it's now a live trial, not a closed demo.
Source: CnEVPost
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