The Sydney EV Podcast

SydneyEV “SydEV”

Thinking about going electric? You've found the right podcast. Whether you're already driving an EV, seriously considering one, or just watching the petrol price creep up and wondering if there's a better way , Aussie EV Pluggers is your weekly guide to all things electric in Australia. Every week we cut through the hype, roast the slow chargers, celebrate the good, and give you straight-talking news and reviews from actual Aussie owners, just real talk. We cover what's arriving in Australia, what it actually costs to run, the charging infrastructure

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    The Quickest Subaru Ever, Massive 7m BYD Vans, & a Renters' EV Revolution

    G’day everyone, and welcome back to EV Down Under! Coming to you live from the back of the car as usual, we’ve got a massive local and international news roundup this week. No beating around the bush—we are talking major price drops, giant electric people movers, and some serious upgrades for Aussie renters. Here is what’s on the menu today: Subaru Uncharted: It’s officially priced at $59,990, making it their cheapest EV yet. But don't let the price fool you—this dual-motor, Symmetrical AWD setup pumps out 252kW and beats a fabled WRX to 100kph. Perfect for some soft off-roading (and V2L campsite karaoke). XPeng X9 Approved: Moving families with "more people than most people," this 5.3-metre electric people mover is officially approved for Aussie roads to take on the Kia Carnival. The BYD V9 Commercial Monster: A massive 6.95-metre long electric van landing around the $80k mark later this year. Goodbye diesel running costs for logistics fleets! EOFY Deals: GAC Aion V is dropping insane 0.99% finance deals and free 22kW home chargers before the June 30 cutoff. International Highlights: The MG IM 07 launches in China (essentially a Porsche Taycan at Aldi prices) and Rivian opens up the highly anticipated R2 configurator in the US. Rewiring Australia & The Renter Revolution: A massive push to get the NSW Government to mandate V2G-ready plugs in rentals so you can power your home for up to 5 days using your car battery. The Fun Stuff: Big batteries saving Aussie solar farms from curtailment, ClearVue's solar skyscraper glass, and a quantum physics trick in Japan/Germany pushing solar limits to the absolute edge. What do you reckon? Should landlords be forced to install EV-ready plugs in Australian rentals? Drop your thoughts on the Uncharted or the massive BYD van in the comments below—I read every single one.

    16 min
  2. May 10

    The Era of the Land Yacht, and a ute Tax!

    Episode 6: Land Rovers Are Chinese Now, BYD Is Unstoppable & New Zealand Wants to Tax Your Ute Sorry for the delay ,turns out house painting is exactly as exciting as it sounds. But we're back, and this week did not disappoint. In Episode 6 of the Australia EV Podcast, I cover a massive week in the EV world ,new affordable options possibly heading to Australia, Chinese brands giving British icons a battery-powered second life, BYD dropping absolute weapons, ute tax drama across the Tasman, and some genuinely exciting battery tech that could change everything. In this episode: On the local front Kia's EV2 is still on the cards for Australia with a potential sub-$45k price point, but Slovakia and shipping costs are making things complicated. MG's premium IM brand is bringing the massive IM8 three-row SUV to Australia in early 2027 think $80-100k territory with a 68cm 5K screen and Shiatsu massage seats. The Land Rover Freelander is back Chinese-made, electrified, and bigger than a Prado. Mitsubishi is finally waking up from its electric nap with a Foxconn-built small SUV landing before the end of 2026. And Chery is launching yet another brand — iCaur — a dedicated off-road range with proper spare wheel on the tailgate and up to 1,000km of hybrid range. Internationally, BYD's new Atto 3 charges from 10 to 97% in nine minutes, which is barely enough time to grab a servo pie. The BYD Datang picked up 30,000 pre-orders in 24 hours from $51,000 Australian equivalent ,because apparently that's just what BYD does now. The Audi E7X flagship SUV has landed in China with 900-volt architecture and a ByteDance AI assistant. And the BYD Sealion 08 is a 5.1-metre, 480kW luxury people-mover with 900km of range that should make every European premium brand very nervous. On the politics front, New Zealand researchers are calling for a ute tax, citing pedestrian safety stats that are genuinely hard to argue with. Back home, new national rules make it significantly easier to ditch your gas connection entirely. WA is trialling electric kilns for lithium processing using renewable energy. And CATL has signed a 60 gigawatt-hour sodium-ion battery deal ,sodium, the working-class hero of the battery world. The bottom line this week: BYD is playing 4D chess against itself while everyone else is still reading the instructions. The affordable EV options are coming. The off-road EVs are coming. The luxury EVs are already here. And the "EVs aren't ready" crowd is running out of arguments faster than a petrol car runs out of excuses at the bowser. Drop your thoughts in the comments, which upcoming car has you most excited? Fuelled by cold coffee. Powered by solar. Broadcasting from where the sun is free and the coal lobby owns most of the government.

    20 min
  3. IONIQ 3, 700km Merc & Japan’s Solar Balls

    Apr 23

    IONIQ 3, 700km Merc & Japan’s Solar Balls

    G’day legends! Rob here. Welcome to Episode 5 of the SydEV Podcast. This one is coming to you a bit early and a bit lean because I am currently being buried alive under a pile of invoices and gyprock. Building a house is a great way to ensure you never have money or free time ever again. Highly recommend it if you hate yourself. Despite the "small things" (aka large bills) trying to stop me, we’ve got a big news but short on stories week of news: Hyundai IONIQ 3: The "Aero Hatch" has arrived. It’s got a 0.263 drag coefficient, which makes it officially less aerodynamic than a fridge, but more aerodynamic than my house frame. Plus, I explain the "Megabox" pickup line you didn't know you needed. The Mercedes EQC (GLC Electric): Mercedes finally built a proper EV platform. It’s got 713km of range and an Imax screen on the dash so you can watch movies while you wait for the plumber to show up. Japan’s Solar Balls: Why have flat panels when you can have tiny spheres that catch light from every direction? It’s ball-ception, and it’s brilliant. The Big Clean Flip: New data from Ember shows clean energy met 100% of global demand growth last year. We’ve finally stopped the fossil fuel rot, and solar is doing 75% of the heavy lifting. Honda & The Self-Drive Retreat: Why the Japanese and Germans are finally admitting that we probably shouldn't sleep while driving a two-ton metal box. What do you reckon? Would you trust a Solar Ball to power your kettle? And is 700km of range worth $110k?

    11 min
  4. Apr 17

    $31k MG4s & 9-Minute Charging The EV Industry Just Turned up to 11

    If you thought the EV market was moving fast before, grab a handle, because this week it just hit hyperdrive." G’day legends, welcome back. I’m Rob, and this week we’re talking about an EV news cycle that’s hotter than the sand at Bondi at high noon. In this episode, we’re unpacking: The $31k Bargain: MG is having a literal "garage sale" with the MG4 Urban. It’s officially cheaper than a used Camry and smells significantly less like a mystery oil leak. The Tradie Dream: MG teased an electric ute (the U9), and GWM dropped the ORA 5 SUV. Vehicle-to-Load is here, so you can power your esky while looking rugged in your Akubra. Pure Electric Rage: Denza is bringing 1.5 Megawatt chargers to Australia. 0 to 97% in nine minutes. That’s faster than it takes an EV hater to type "but what about the grid?" in my comments. Science is Wild: We look at "light batteries" that trap sunlight in molecules and a Chinese solid-state battery that’s basically unkillable. The 876km Race: A Tesla Model 3 went head-to-head with a Camry Hybrid from Sydney to Melbourne. The result? Only 9 minutes difference. I’ll tell you why that "9 minutes" is the most important number in the industry right now. Plus, we look at why Sydney summers are now 50 days longer (spoiler: it’s not because the sun likes us more) and why Volvo Trucks is already winning the long-haul game while everyone else is still putting their boots on. What’s your pick of the week? The 9-minute charge or the $31k MG? Drop a comment below—I read all two of them!

    15 min
  5. Apr 10

    950km Range, 100 Robotaxis Napping & A Kia That Might Kill the Hiace

    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.

    24 min

About

Thinking about going electric? You've found the right podcast. Whether you're already driving an EV, seriously considering one, or just watching the petrol price creep up and wondering if there's a better way , Aussie EV Pluggers is your weekly guide to all things electric in Australia. Every week we cut through the hype, roast the slow chargers, celebrate the good, and give you straight-talking news and reviews from actual Aussie owners, just real talk. We cover what's arriving in Australia, what it actually costs to run, the charging infrastructure

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