Market Insight: Medium SUVs go green

ELECTRIFIED driveline options now account for a considerable share of Australia’s most popular vehicle segment, the sub-$65,000 medium SUV category, with 27 entrants available in a field of 35 models – or more than 77 per cent of the overall segment.

BYD offers four entrants alone in the medium SUV under $65K category with its Atto 3 battery electric model, Sealion 5 and Sealion 6 plug-in hybrids and Sealion 7 BEV.

Chinese compatriot Chery offers its Tiggo 7 entrant in both petrol and PHEV format, the burgeoning brand joining others that include the Deepal S07 BEV, GAC Aion V BEV, Geely Starray PHEV, Geely EX5 BEV, GWM’s Haval H6 (petrol, hybrid and PHEV) and Haval H7 hybrid, Jaecoo J7 (petrol or PHEV), Leapmotor C10 as a range-extender hybrid or BEV, and MG with its HS as a petrol, hybrid or PHEV.

Honda offers the ZR-V and CR-V in both petrol and hybrid format, while Hyundai offers the Elexio BEV and Tucson in petrol and hybrid form. KGM (formerly SsangYong) offers electrified versions of both its Torres and Actyon, while Kia sells diesel, petrol, and petrol-electric versions of its popular Sportage.

Mitsubishi – one of the first in the segment to offer plug-in hybrid power – offers petrol and PHEV versions of its strong-selling Outlander, while Nissan offers both petrol and hybrid versions of its evergreen X-Trail.

A smattering of European entrants provides a mix of petrol and electrified drivelines, including the Renault Scenic E-Tech BEV and Skoda Elroq BEV, while Japanese stalwarts Subaru and Toyota round out the current portfolio with hybrid versions of the Forester and RAV4 respectively (noting the RAV4 is now also available with plug-in hybrid power).

The statistics reveal that only two diesel powered models remain within the medium SUV under $65K segment – the KGM Korando and Kia Sportage – and just seven as a petrol-only proposition – being the Mahindra XUV700, Mazda CX-5, Peugeot 3008 and 408, Renault Koleos, Skoda Karoq, and Volkswagen Tiguan (although a Tiguan PHEV is imminent).

While GoAuto does not have access to a full breakdown of sales by fuel type for the segment, internal estimates show that just over half (50.6 per cent) of the category’s registrations now include some form of electrification, indicating that Australian buyers are moving to embrace new technologies in a bid to save on fuel costs and reduce their transportation emissions footprint.

2026 Medium SUV segment under $65K by fuel type*:

*Motive fuel type data supplied courtesy of R.J.Pound and VFACTS.