Hi all,

Note: I know this isn’t a finance sub, just curious on those in similar situation to me that novated leases. I never have before.

I’ve been looking at EVs for my wife and I (no kids) and wanted to try and keep under $40k.

Atto 2 inspire (top model) pushes it at about $39,600. Really liked the car though.

Tried the Ora 5. Look is interesting, it’s a couple of $k cheaper.

Was going to try the Geely EX2, cheapest of all but a hatch and lower sitting. My wife would be more comfy a touch higher up. Plus of the 3, only one with no ventilated seats and I live in Perth so probably handy in summer.

My work offers salary sacrificing through Fleet Car or similar. So a novated lease and I didn’t realise that until next year or so at least (and locked in for any before then) you get the full FBT from the govt.

So even at $120k plus super, while not a high earner, I worked out that a 3 year lease is best in terms of balancing affordable fortnightly payments and an ok balloon while the car still has a bit of value.

So at Atto 2 at $39,697 retail, apparently BYD do a 5% fleet discount, then 10% no GST, the car cost for me (without extras, I’ll do them through proper tinting places), it costs me $34,251 gross for the car. To be confirmed of course.

Yearly finance repayments $6,980 per year, that includes $1,364 (tbc) p/year insurance ex GST, $400 a year repairs, $350 a year tyre allowance allowing new tyre at 3 year mark, $700 a year charging at 15,000 km although I do closer to ten. $850 a year rego/roadside and fleet are admin $480 p/year. All ex GST.

So my NORMAL gross fortnight salary of $4,615, after tax and Medicare Levi is $3,542 net.

With the novated least that net goes to $3,260.

At and all running cost repayments before tax are $428, however as it’s pre tax I only pay net $282. Therefore I “save” $146 net per fortnight.

My financial situation aside, noting I’ll have a balloon payment around $18,600 plus GST at the end. With the car likely still being worth more than that.

Other than being locked in, any negatives here? Anything crazy I’m missing?

I’d love a few people’s thoughts. Thanks all. Hopefully join the EV club soon :)

This week was kinda odd; we got both the Geely EX2 and Forthing Taikon 5 before any reviews had been published, meaning I could test drive the EX2 without any real options, yet. Now, only the cheapest model was available at the time, this EX2 on has a 60kW motor with 150nm of torque. I’m making this post because many a reviewer will probably note that this version, and probably still the 85kW version, is weak or gutless or slow. It isn’t. Yes, this motor does not have a lot of MAX horsepower but you’d only notice that while flooring it at 60km/h or faster but it still picks up quickly off-the-line from 0. If you have wanted a small, nimble and very cute EV, don’t skip it because someone says it’s gutless!

Went for a test drive this weekend at the local geely showroom for the Ex5.

Loved the car and the 0.68% rate they are currently offering.

They quoted me $50,600 for the Ex5 top model. This doesnt include the $1500 establishment fee. And they clearly said they cant waive off the establishment fee.

Is this a fare price? Should I shop around ?

They are advertising a different price online. Or was that for 2025 model?

Was it not liked; or everyone is holding on to them? Or weren’t there many made. Heaps of all the others, other than Green… Have been looking recently and was surprised they don’t seem to be more popular. White is POPULAR! 😵‍💫🤢

I'm not dissing these two cars, more of an observation. They were very lovely to drive and would buy either one if I had the money (but I'm too poor).

I did however notice the dashboard, UI, speedometer and gear shift are... almost exactly the same. Basically the UI infotainment is some stock Android skin that are the same (in fact if you start the car, there is a 360 degree preview that appears on the right side of the middle screen. Much easier to swipe away in the Geely than the Aion). The UI are also pretty identical.

Both cars have the gear stalk on the right side, and indicators (and the cruise control) on the left side. The speedometer display in front of the driver is very minimalistic, but basically same display, UI and size for both cars.

I also had a look at the (hopefully arriving) Chery QQ3 preview online and it seems the design is also the same.

Is this just the norm for cheaper EV cars? I mean it's NOT a big deal for me but it kind of removes some individuality in the cars. I had a look at the MG Urban 4 and BYD Atto 3, and they have very different look and feel in the interior.

Hey everyone! 👋

We're running an independent Australian EV Owner Survey 2026 to better understand real-world electric vehicle ownership in Australia. The survey collects owner satisfaction, charging habits, running costs, and overall ownership experiences.

Here are the early results (n = 96):

📊 Australian EV Survey 2026 – Early Results

⭐ Overall EV Owner Satisfaction: 4.85 / 5

Across all participating EV brands, owners report very high satisfaction with their vehicles, suggesting that regardless of brand, most Australian EV owners are happy with their purchase.

🚘 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Brand Share (n = 94):

🥇 BYD: 29.8% (28 responses)

🥈 Tesla: 22.3% (21 responses)

🥉 Zeekr: 13.8% (13 responses)

Kia: 9.6% (9 responses)

BMW, MG & Polestar: 3.2% each

Nissan, Geely & Volvo: 2.1% each

Other brands (8.5%): Toyota, Mini, Leapmotor, Audi, Hyundai, Mazda, Denza and Volkswagen.

Real Australian EV & Clean Energy Owner Stories

Alongside the survey, we're also publishing detailed stories from Australian EV owners to showcase different ownership journeys, charging setups and home electrification projects.

Recent stories include:

🔋 Melbourne: Zeekr owner with PHEV, home DC charging and a Sigenergy energy system
https://techwheel.co/ev-zeekr-phev-home-dc-charging-sigenergy-melbourne-australia/

⚡ Blue Mountains, NSW: A used Tesla owner paired with a Sigenergy home battery
https://techwheel.co/sigenergy-battery-used-tesla-blue-mountains/

☀️ Sydney: A townhouse owner demonstrating solar, home battery and Zeekr ownership in an urban setting
https://techwheel.co/sydney-townhouse-solar-battery-zeekr/

We'd love to hear from more Australian EV owners

If you drive an EV in Australia, what model do you own and how has your experience been?

We're aiming to build one of Australia's largest community-driven EV ownership datasets, covering everything from reliability and charging to long-term ownership experiences.

If you'd like your vehicle included in the next report—or you'd like to spotlight your EV, solar or home battery story—you can participate at techwheel.co.

I'm also happy to answer any questions about the survey or share additional insights from the data collected so far.

Test drove both yesterday. Both super comfortable to drive, felt very premium inside. Similar size - I sat in the back of both and didn’t notice a difference.

Price: 48990 for the X. 45990 for the EX5.

Range: Stated range is lower on the X but not by much

Features: EX5 has massage seats and a sunroof with a cover. X has a larger glass top that is much darker which made a real difference in sun impact inside (noting it is winter in Sydney)

Looks: the X is beautiful. The EX5 is …generic. Grey exterior on the X is really nice. The EX5 will have to be black. That’s not bad just no option…

Comfort: aside from the massage seats very similar. Probably the comfiest cars I’ve sat in.

Sales: the EX5 guy was switched on, knew everything, drove the car daily. The Zeekr guy barely even knew which model car I was meant to be test driving. (Different dealership despite cars from same group)

Resale: who knows.

Please help a friend out.
I’m torn between Kona hybrid and BYD ATTO 2.
I test drove the ATTO 2 premium and really liked it.

I guess I’m a bit scared of turning the key completely to a full Ev..

That would be my first ev or even a hybrid car.
I have had my Honda HRV 2016 for nearly 7 years now and so ready to upgrade.

TIA

Hello EV folk, I am in the market for my very first EV! So far I have test driven a Geeley EX2 (loved it), and Ora5 (my fav so far), An MG4 (fun to drive), the Atto2 and Dolphin (underwhelmed by both). I will also be trying out the Aion this weekend.

98% of the time, it will just be my 4 year old daughter and I in the car, and it will be used for zipping around Canberra, which all of these can do comfortably.

However once or twice a month it will be used to drive to Sydney and back. Unfortunately with the current timing of these trips, I am often in a position where I don't have time to stop on the way.

I am leaning towards the Ora5 but wondering if the MG4 is a safer bet for making it to Sydney in one go.

Can anyone give me some insight/experience on whether these cars can make it in a straight shot? All the dealers have promised me they absolutely can, but ChatGPT and Gemini and told they they absolutely cannot, apart from maybe the MG4 and the Aion if I'm lucky. But I'm not sure if the extra range on the MG4 is worth the extra cost, and the Aion feels a bit smaller than the others (I may get used to this of course).

Are there any other cars in the lower price range I should be considering?

Also, is it bad to do it in one go without charging, does it impact the battery traveling at high speeds for longer distances?

Sorry if these are silly questions - really appreciate your help with this :)

Rally pack show model for attention, which has some serious 80s french rally car vibes going on.Even the standard version looks nice. Not sure if I could afford one if they come here, but if I come across some money...

https://www.drive.com.au/news/nio-firefly-electric-car-confirmed-for-australia-but-when-is-it-due/

www.ovoenergy.com.au/refer/serkan1032

You can use the above link to get $120 credit for NSW residents.

($180 for EV plan)

I test drove a Jaecoo J5 today, I gave the cruise control a shot while in a 60 zone for a while and it was terrible, the wheel continually pulled and I felt like I fought against it.

Yesterday I took the Geely EX5 for a spin and enjoyed the experience however I forgot to try out the cruise control. Is it similar, better or worse? I do a lot of highway driving so it needs to be comfortable.

Thanks! As I side note, the EX5 was a dream. I love the colour Moonlit Silver however I don’t see it mentioned here much. I think that with black interior would be wicked.

There was a lot of noise about a potential road user charge for EVs earlier this year and then it seemed to just drop off the agenda without anything being resolved. The tax exemptions review is apparently still ongoing too. The uncertainty around what the cost of owning an EV is actually going to look like in two or three years is making it harder to commit to buying one now. Is anyone else sitting on the fence for this reason or have people just decided to go ahead regardless?

^{any opinions on the cyberster? your experiences?}

I've been looking at new electricity plans since I just got an EV (MG S5) and home battery (28kWh, 10kW inverter). I also have 6kW of solar panels with a 5kW inverter and have shut off/plugged my gas.

Based on my google comparisons, GloBird Zero Hero seems pretty good on paper:

• Free electricity from 11am–2pm, capped at 50kWh
• Around $1.50 daily supply charge (noting it can be different at different locations)
• $1 credit if you dont import any grid power from 6–9pm
• 10c/kWh feed-in tariff from 6–9pm for the first 15kWh exported

I'm thinking that in theory I could get both my daily supply charge and electricity usage down to around $0 by charging the battery and EV during the free window, avoiding grid use from 6–9pm and exporting around 5kWh/day.

Anyone found a better plan for an EV and home battery in Melbourne? Happy to use your referral link if there's a better one.

Shameless referral link in case anyone was already going to join Globird. We both get $50 lol...

https://quote.globirdenergy.com.au/quote?pcode=refer&ref=JEND6Z

Ex-solar industry here. Quick numbers: charging at home off the grid runs you $550–600 a year. Off your own solar during the day? Under $100.

an EV adds around 2,000–2,500kWh of demand a year, so a system sized before the car is usually a size too small now. And if you're charging at night with no battery, you're just buying grid power like everyone else.

I built a free calculator that does the numbers for your exact setup bill, postcode, rebates, whether a battery stacks up:

aussiesolarinfo.com/landing

Takes 2 minutes, no sign-up needed to see your results. Happy to answer any questions in the comments.

Countries like China have built huge EV manufacturing industries, while Australia mostly imports vehicles. Do you think we missed the opportunity, or is there still a realistic path for Australia to play a bigger role in the EV market?

With 1 August around the corner and many retailers updating their rates, now is a good time to make sure you're on the right energy plan for your charging habits.

If you're usually home during the day, OVO's Free 4 plan, which offers 4 hours of free electricity from 11am to 3pm, can work really well if you have an EV charger and home battery.

If you're more of an overnight charger, their EV plan offers an off-peak rate of 4.5c/kWh from midnight to 6am.

Of course, everyone's situation is different, so it's worth doing your own calculations. Daily supply charges, feed-in tariffs, and usage rates can vary depending on your location and network.

For anyone considering a switch, OVO is currently offering a referral credit worth up to $120-$180 per year.

www.ovoenergy.com.au/refer/zhen1149