The Sydney EV Podcast

This week I cover more ground than a BYD Tang on a full charge ,which, as it turns out, is 950 kilometres. Yes. Nine hundred and fifty. I've never owned a petrol car with that kind of range and I've owned a few.

We kick things off in Europe where Mercedes has decided steering wheels are overrated and gone full steer-by-wire on the new EQS. No mechanical connection between the wheel and the tyres whatsoever. Terrifying? Maybe. Cool? Absolutely. And yes, I do have thoughts about the yoke double standard.

Then Korea drops a bomb, Kia has priced the PV5 electric van at $55,990 and tradies, I'm going to need you to sit down for this one. It might actually kill the Hiace. I said what I said.

China is doing what China does , Zeekr slashed $11,000 off the Zeekr X, Chery dropped the Omoda E5 to $37,990 drive-away, and Forthing is officially launching in Australia in June. Yes, Forthing. It's a real brand. The car is actually good.

Mazda confirmed CX-6e pricing, $53,990 for the GT ,with a 1.2 metre digital display that is genuinely bigger than my first television.

Back home, Wollongong Council quietly got on with it and installed kerbside EV chargers on power poles while everyone else was still talking about it. Good on them.

On the infrastructure front, coastal routes are solid, inland is still a charging desert, and I have genuine concerns about what's going to happen at regional chargers this Christmas when all those record EV orders turn into actual cars on actual roads.

In renewable news, cheap solar and battery deals are everywhere right now. Some of them are genuinely great. Some of them are absolutely not. I'll tell you how to tell the difference.

And in the fun stuff, 100 Baidu robotaxis in Wuhan all decided to stop simultaneously in the middle of traffic for a collective nap. Nothing builds confidence in autonomous vehicles like a group timeout on a busy road.

Also, Fortescue just took delivery of their 15th giant electric excavator in the Pilbara, each one saving a million litres of diesel a year. When Australia's biggest miners are going electric at that scale, the "but what about the big stuff" crowd is running out of arguments fast.

Big week. Grab a coffee. Let's go.

This week I'm covering more ground than a dual-motor MG U9 with a full tank of electrons.

Renault's stunning Renault 5 can't come to Australia because of a child seat rule that'll cost them $5 million to fix. Meanwhile MG just got approval for an electric ute that tows 3,500 kg and Toyota responded with a Hilux BEV that tows 2,000 kg and does 245 km on a good day ,with the wind behind it and they expect to sell 500 of them.

Bold strategy.

MG also launched their cheapest EV yet at $31,990 drive-away, Mercedes is bringing a luxury SUV with 750 km of real-world range, BMW dropped prices, Mazda confirmed the CX-6e, and somehow we're still debating whether EVs are viable.

Plus the FBT exemption lives, Tesla Supercharger prices are dropping while petrol hits $3 a litre, BP Pulse is building a 24-bay charging hub at Melbourne Airport, and Japanese scientists may have just broken the laws of physics with a solar panel that's more than 100% efficient.

Also: used EV prices are going through the roof, Google Maps now does proper EV route planning, and China sold 15,000 Xiaomi SU7s in 34 minutes. Thirty-four minutes.

It's a big one. Grab a coffee.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Sydney EV Podcast! I’m Rob, your resident EV advocate and solar nerd, and I’m here to talk real talk about the electric revolution happening right now in Australia. Whether you're one of my "all 2" listeners or just stumbled in, grab a coffee (regional or otherwise) and plug in.

In this inaugural episode, we’re diving into a stacked week of Aussie and International EV news:

• The $30k Barrier Breaks: The GAC Aion UT leaked pricing is a "clean up in aisle 4" moment for the budget EV scene.

• Mazda’s Redemption: Is the Mazda 6e the Tesla Model 3 killer we’ve been waiting for? (Spoiler: It’s under $50k!)

• Van-Life & Tradeies: Why the Farizon V7E is basically a 1,300kg payload Tardis for the smart worker.

• The "Latte-Sipping" Myth: Why the culture war against EVs is failing in the face of $2.50 petrol and Iranian oil shocks.

• Quantum Lasers & Mission Beach: CSIRO’s sci-fi battery breakthrough and Tesla’s massive new 25-bay Supercharger in Far North QLD.

From BMW’s "Heart of Joy" (or Heart of G-Force Nausea) to the truth about heavy vehicle incentives in NSW, we're covering the wins, the myths, and the occasional WTF moments.

EVs aren't the future—they're the now.

Connect with me:X (Twitter) Bluesky TikTok Threads etc etc: @SydneyEVSubscribe for weekly episodes on the tech, the politics, and the bargains of the Australian EV market.