electric

Australia’s most affordable electric car – the MG ZS EV SUV – will now be available to rent, courtesy of Europcar. From next week, customers will have access to the electric ZS in Melbourne. According to MG, its primary goal is to give consumers the opportunity to properly test drive an electric vehicle (EV).

When discussing Australia's dearth of electric cars and their related infrastructure, the debate always comes back to consumer choice – or lack thereof. However, with a list of incoming launches, promised models and electric-powered variants on the cards, the limited-choice excuse will hopefully soon be a distant memory. From mass-market small SUVs to high-performance prestige cars, the all-electric line-up for 2021 is varied and houses something for every buyer.

UPDATE, 9 April 2021: Tesla has claimed its onboard camera systems are subject to the highest level of security and privacy standards, in the wake of spying allegations from the Chinese government. In an official statement posted to the state-sanctioned Weibo forum earlier this week, the electric car specialist strenuously denied any wrongdoing and said: “Even in the United States, car owners can freely choose whether to turn on [the car's] camera.

UPDATE, 31 March 2021: It now appears Volkswagen will not change its name in the US to ‘Voltswagen’, despite earlier assurances. You can read further about the developing story here. Volkswagen will change the name of its US division to 'Voltswagen of America', in a push to highlight the brand’s shift towards electrification.

Australia is at risk of becoming an "automotive third world," a local spokesperson for Volkswagen has claimed. Europe, China, Japan and the USA – where the vast majority of the world's cars are built – all have significantly more stringent emission regulations than Australia. As such, local branches and distributors report it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify the importing of newer and more environmentally friendly model variants at the expense of overseas quotas.