This week on Chasing Cars: major EV incentives, Cupra details plans and RS3 drifts into action

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Is there anything better than free money? Alright let’s rein that in a bit, how about free money for a brand-spanking new car? The answer is still no.

But in a fleeting moment of evidence-based policymaking that’s exactly what we got this week when the NSW government announced a slew of rebates and other incentives for electric vehicles.

The rolling impact of this was huge and works its way into most of the articles we’ve written this week – but I’ll come back to that, let’s talk about what else happened.

As far as announcements go, we saw a range of cars from very swish wagons like the Peugeot 308 SW and Volkswagen Arteon, smart hatches like the Honda Civic and even the face-ripping Porsche 911 Carrera GTS lined up for our shores – and we’re all the better for it I say.

But in some sad news, we also saw Audi announced it would globally kill off the combustion engine by 2033 (except in China for some reason) – while Hyundai Motor Group decided it likes the look of that Boston Dynamics place that keeps going viral and snapped it up to start building some very cool looking robots.

NSW government announces major incentives for EV buyers

The new incentives announced as part of the NSW State Budget will come into effect as of September 1 and include a range of measures to make EVs more affordable and alluring to buyers.

Chief among these is the abolition of stamp duty on EVs costing up to $78,000, in addition to a $3,000 rebate that’s been made available for EVs under $68,750 – and yes you can use both at the same time.

This should wipe around $5,000 off the cost of most cheap EVs and knock the edge off the financial premium involved when going electric – but it won’t get rid of the difference entirely.

The NSW government will also build $131million worth of EV charging stations and allow buyers to use a priority car parks and traffic lanes – this will eventually come at a cost however, with a 2.5c/km electric vehicle road charge set to be introduced in 2027 or when EVs make up 30 per cent of the overall market.

Cupra details plans for Australia

It’s not everyday that we get a new car brand, and certainly not one like Cupra, that is focused exclusively on performance cars that are priced relatively affordably. 

Cupra will bring a range of cars to Australia next year, including the Leon hot hatch, Ateca small SUV and Formentor midsize SUV.

The underling of the Volkswagen Group will also bring PHEV versions of the Formentor and Leon to Australia with the fully electric Born hatch to follow but timing is not yet confirmed.

Ben Wilks, Cupra Australia Brand Director, made it clear they would not compromise for the masses, insisting “(Cupra) is not a brand that wants to be liked by everybody, but loved by some.”

Audi RS3 gets seriously sideways

It hasn’t been fully unveiled just yet but Audi has given us some good insight into the new RS3 that sure doesn’t look to disappoint,

For a start, it will retain its ballistic 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder petrol engine with power holding steady at 294kW but torque has been given a 20Nm bump to 500Nm. 

The end result is the RS3 is now a sub 4-second car with a 0-100km/h time of just 3.8 seconds – which is largely thanks to a tricky new all wheel drive system.

Specifically, this means Audi has ditched the Haldex system in favour of a new Torque Splitter arrangement that has the ability to send 100 per cent of its rear-driven power to either wheel – making drifting and generally better handling a reality. 

Other car and SUV news we covered this week:

• Honda unveiled the 11th generation Civic hatch that will arrive later this year with a hybrid version expected to follow next year. In 2022, the Type R will be announced but no details for Australia just yet.

• Audi said it will finally kill off the combustion engine in all markets except China in 2033, and will launch its last develop-developed ICE car in 2025, but promises its last will be its best yet.

• Honda Australia announced it was introducing non-negotiable driveaway pricing across the country to negate what it says buyers hate most about buying a new car.

• In the wake of the new EV incentives the car industry, including Volvo, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan, came out in support – while Volkswagen took the opportunity to point out what a contrast it was to equivalent actions by the federal and Victorian government.

• MG also welcomed the package and pointed out the MG ZS EV – already Australia’s cheapest EV – could be snapped up for as little as $39,670 driveaway.

• Mazda announced a plan to build eight new EV models by 2030 and announced a new platform for combustion vehicles that can use rear or all wheel drive mated to a longitudinal straight-six engine that will be found in the next Mazda 6 and CX-5.

• The Suzuki Jimny will be getting a second variant in Australia known as the Lite that guts the of roader of its frills and will likely be a lot cheaper than the current $28,490 entry price (before on-roads). More details will be announced on August 1 when it goes on sale.

• Volkswagen confirmed to Chasing Cars it was very keen to bring the Touareg R to Australia, the large SUV is a PHEV with some 340kW/ 700Nm on tap.

• Peugeot announced it would bring the absolutely gorgeous 308 SW to Australia in the first half of next year that packs an absurd amount of space in a small and tech-packed little wagon.

• In other wagon news, Volkswagen confirmed the Arteon would go on sale by the end of the year with a starting price of $59,990 (before on-roads) with a full-fat 206TSI grade also on offer.

• Volkswagen detailed the Golf hatch which is now on sale with prices starting from $29,350 plus on-road costs. The iconic hatch packs loads of safety technology and sleek minimalist new design. 

• But if you need a bit more room look to the Golf Wagon which returns with one less grade and a slightly higher starting price of $33,550 before on-roads when it goes on sale in July.

• Porsche announced the 911 Carrera GTS is coming back early next year with a price of $314,800 before on-road costs. Pricey yes, but that gets you some 353kW/569Nm from its sweet 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six engine and handling dynamics like no other.

• But beefy combustion engines are not the future and Porsche knows that. So it has begun developing high-performance battery technology with Customcells to make its future EVs are truly rapid.  

• In more business news we saw Hyundai Motor Group purchase Boston Dynamics to help develop cutting edge robotics for a wide range of purposes including assisting human mobility through exoskeletons. 

• Hyundai also teased the i30 Sedan N this week, which will arrive in Australia later this year and sits on a newer platform than the hatch – meaning it could potentially drive even better.

• Volvo announced the XC60 midsize SUV will go all-electric when its next-generation launches in 2024 and will use sustainably sourced batteries. 

• The Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 is now on sale with prices starting from $76,800 (before on-roads) with a more feature-packed ‘First Edition’ also on offer.

• Arriving before Christmas is the EQA 350 that will bring all wheel drive and a whole lot more power to the small SUV, we reckon it will be priced around $85,000 to $90,000 (before on roads).

• Alfa Romeo gave the Stelvio a few tweaks adding more safety including blind-spot assistance and traffic sign recognition. Prices start from $64,950 before on-road costs.

• The Jeep Gladiator got an update with more standard features added to the lineup and even more capability, with the off road yank tank now able to carry 693kg in the bed.

• Subaru marked a big milestone this week as it sold its 50,000th WRX to a bloke in Brisbane, the successor to the current model is expected to be launched in Australia later this year. 

And that’s a wrap, see you all next week!