Your questions answered: Can I get the Tesla discount?

It’s all hybrids and EVs in the carsales email box this week.

Aussies clearly have a big appetite for lowering their running costs and reducing the environmental footprint of their next car.

We’ve also got one recent Tesla buyer asking if they have any option to get the recent discount applied to the company’s EVs and someone else wondering when the Nissan Ariya will arrive in Australia with bi-directional charging.

Plus there’s some ute interest (surprise!), this time around why Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series orders remain paused, plus a query on why Mazda vehicles need to be serviced every 10,000km.

Question: My wife recently took delivery of a new Tesla Model 3 – about a month before Tesla announced it was reducing the price.

She’s loving the car but I’m not exactly loving the fact we paid more than others who are now taking delivery of new Teslas.

Is there anything we can do? Isn’t there some consumer protection against this sort of thing? – Ryan K

Answer: You took delivery just at the wrong time, which is obviously nothing you could have predicted.

Early in 2022 Teslas were more affordable but they inched up in price before coming down again early in 2023. Anyone who took delivery late in 2022 likely paid more than those who received their cars more recently.

There’s nothing you can do legally. Tesla quoted a price, which is the price you paid. But you can at the very least express your disappointment directly to Tesla through its customer support web page.

Most car companies try to maintain reasonably stable prices by riding out currency fluctuations and minimising increases. They do it for exactly this reason, although even then you may find a deal or discount being applied to a car that you recently took delivery of.

Tesla works quite differently and tends to adjust its prices depending on exchange rates and demand for its vehicles.
Sorry if it’s not what you want to hear, but rest assured you weren’t alone!

Question: I see Volkswagen says it won’t be building a fuel-cell electric vehicle any time soon – which is very disappointing.

I reckon hydrogen is a great way of getting an EV with very quick recharging. Are we likely to see FCEVs from other brands? – James C

Answer: Hydrogen is certainly a compelling technology and one that many manufacturers see as playing a role in our zero-emissions future.

But it also has bigger challenges than battery-electric vehicles, the most obvious of which is a lack of refueling infrastructure. It’s a biggie, because creating hydrogen and distributing it to retailers (service stations) is essential to make hydrogen fuel-cells appealing.

It's interesting that Volkswagen pointed out the packaging challenges with the hydrogen tanks in passenger cars, which are increasingly pressured for occupant space. At least with batteries the packs can be made to fit various holes and shapes, whereas hydrogen tanks currently have to be cylindrical, meaning they’ll soak up lots of space that could otherwise be used for people and luggage.

All is not lost, though. While many auto-makes are investing in FCEV heavy vehicles, Toyota and Hyundai are two brands still very keen on hydrogen playing a role in light vehicles in the future.

If the trucking market can make hydrogen inroads it could be the impetus required to make it more viable for smaller vehicles. But if we’re guessing, it’ll only be larger four-wheel drives and commercial vehicles that will go the hydrogen route for the foreseeable future.

Probably more questions than answers in all of that, but unfortunately it’s a bit of a waiting game for FCEVs at the moment.

Question: I purchased and took delivery of a new Mazda CX-5 Sports Maxx in December 2022. Lucky for me it was a few days in turn around between selection and receiving the keys.

When making the decision to wait a few months for the updated 2023 model, the sales person advised mechanically it's an identical 2.5lt engine, gearbox, mechanics and it's mostly tweaking features such as new centre screen, USB-C ports, remote control windows, etc.

One main omission is the servicing. The 2022 specifies 10K intervals yet the 2023 is now 15K. If the cars do have identical mechanics, it's a little frustrating a 3-4 month difference in delivery times would change the distance required between services.

What are your thoughts on this and do you think it's worth questioning the intervals with Mazda directly? Especially if it is an identical mechanical set up? – Alan H

Answer: There have been no changes to the engine on your new CX-5 or what is performed during a service. Instead, Mazda says there has been “rigorous internal testing” that “has confirmed that there is no adverse effect to the operation of the Skyactiv-G and e-Skyactiv-G engines in increasing the service interval by 5000km”.

At this stage, though, the reduced service requirements haven’t flowed through to other models that use the same engine. Mazda assures us this will happen to other models “in line with respective lifecycle updates”.

So even though you’re buying a CX-8 or Mazda3 with the same engine, you’ll still have to service it according to the (older) shorter service intervals – even though by Mazda’s own admission it isn’t required.

Similarly, if you’ve got the same engine in a CX-5 built a few months earlier (the engine is identical) then you’ll also have to adhere to those shorter service intervals.

All of which seems like a way to keep dealers busy, at the expense of higher costs and more running around for customers.

That said, we’d be paying that little bit extra – and dealing with the additional inconvenience – to ensure no warranty arguments in future and to preserve the residual value of the car.

Question: Since I was an apprentice I’ve always wanted a 70 Series LandCruiser. Now that I’ve started my own business and can finally afford one I can’t find a dealer that will actually take my order. WTF!?! All I want to do is put my name on a waiting list so I can finally get hold of the 79 I’ve always wanted. Help… – Johnny W

Answer: Demand for the 70 Series has been crazy since COVID hit and Aussies decided they wanted to explore their backyard. It got to the point where Toyota was holding years worth of orders, something that prompted it to close the books so it could ensure it could supply the people who already had an order.

There’s a chance Toyota is doing that because there may be another update coming in the next two or three years – something that could lead to a change in the price or specifications. They’d rather deliver the car people ordered rather than something potentially different.

There’s also a chance some of the existing orders could fall out of the system if the demand for the 70 Series eases (some people have been buying new ones and selling them straight away for a profit) or peoples’ financial position changes.

Either way, there’s not a whole lot we can do to ease your car buying pain right now, other that suggest we’d be surprised if the 70 Series craziness was still as crazy by the end of 2023.

Sure, it’s a great tough vehicle, but it’s not worth paying over the odds for, as many people currently are in the second-hand market.

As an alternative, have you considered the INEOS Grenadier? Granted, it doesn’t have the reputation of the 70 Series, but there’s a ute version coming soon-ish.

Question: My interest in purchasing an EV centres around V2G and V2H. I am aware the Nissan Leaf is the only EV in Australia that offers this, much to my surprise. You would think knowing Aussie has the largest uptake of solar in the world, they all would supply their EVs with this option.

My question to you is are you aware if the Nissan Ariya due 2023 (?) will carry this option?

The way I view this financial investment in a battery on wheels, is the return I can generate from wholesale electricity trading. By treating excess electricity as an asset the EV, solar with additional back up batteries will create an income stream not bills.

I am willing to wait, hopefully no longer than 2025 for the right EV to land
in Australia. – Bob L

Answer: Don’t go holding your breath for the Ariya in Australia in 2023. The focus for Nissan globally has been on Europe, China, Japan and the US.

Once they’re sorted it’ll be markets such as Australia jostling to get hold of a car that currently has more buyers than the factory can keep up with. Hopefully we’ll see it in 2024…

And whether it will have vehicle-to-grid capability is for now an open question.

With the LEAF, Nissan fits it with the CHAdeMO charging plug (usually used in the Japanese market) for high-powered DC charging. There’s also a Type 2 plug for slower AC charging, including home wallbox charging.

Most EVs sold in Australia get a CCS combo plug for high-speed DC charging. That CCS combo port incorporates the Type 2 plug, so it’s a neater set-up.

But… the CCS combo plug was only recently (early 2022) globally certified for bi-directional charging, which allows it to take on electricity as well as supply it to homes or the grid.

We’re not aware of any car-makers that have yet installed a CCS combo plug capable of V2G or V2H. But they are coming. The only reason we mention that is because the Ariya is available with a CHAdeMO plug in Japan but other markets are currently using the CCS plug.

It’s unclear whether Australia would opt for the CCS plug or continue with the dual CHAdeMO/Type 2 set-up it offers on the LEAf. If we’re guessing, we’d suggest they’d opt for the CCS combo because it can accept a higher rate of charge, so it potentially tops up the car faster.

We contacted Nissan Australia and they said it was as yet undecided which plug the Ariya would get – and exactly when it’s coming here (it seems the focus is on getting the car signed off for our market first!).

Question: I love the idea of an EV but am not quite ready to make the leap. So for now I’ve decided I’ll get a hybrid. But every time I look around it seems like a Toyota is the only option. Am I missing something? – Jade T

Answer: Toyota has sold more hybrids than any other brand and has been selling them here since 2001. The brand is absolutely dominant in hybrids. Of the 81,786 hybrids sold in Australia in 2022, 89 per cent of them wore a Toyota badge.

If you include Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus, then almost 93 per cent of all hybrids sold were produced by the Toyota Motor Corporation.

It all comes down to experience and manufacturing efficiencies. Toyota makes decent hybrids that happen to be very sharply priced (even if they’ve been given price rises over the past few years).

It’s that relatively modest premium over the non-hybrid Toyota equivalents that makes the petrol-electric versions so appealing. No other brand has managed to match that yet.

It also appears many aren’t too interested in attacking Toyota on hybrids. Instead, they’d prefer to attack Toyota’s current weakness – EVs – and beat them at that.

Of course, Toyota stoically insists it isn’t late to the electric car party, even if the Tesla Model 3 outsold the more affordable Toyota Camry (hybrid and petrol only) in 2022. We’ll hear more on Toyota’s local EV strategy over the coming weeks.

As for Toyota hybrid alternatives, there are some. GWM Haval has some and Subaru is promising to improve its underwhelming Forester hybrid.

The Kia Sportage Hybrid is also on the way (think early 2024) and Mitsubishi has the Outlander plug-in hybrid, which offers electric-only running and external recharging.

Question: I currently drive a Ford Ranger and am looking to upgrade in the next couple of years. I’ve heard there may be a hybrid one coming. Just wondering what you know about it and whether there will be any alternatives? – Barry H

Answer: Hybrid utes are on the way, although what form they’ll take remains to be seen. It’s clear there’s demand in the electrified ute space – already local manufacturers such as SEA Electric and Roev are getting plenty of interest from doing EV conversions of existing utes – but they’ve been slow to arrive.

Blame it partly on the requirements of a ute. Sure, many people do little more than drive them around town and throw a surfboard in the back. But many people lug heavy loads or tow with them. They can also be used in remote and/or harsh environments. All of which makes the EV thing that tad more challenging.

That’s why the likes of Ford and Toyota are currently working on hybrid utes, which we’d expect to see in the next few years.

Ford is working on a plug-in hybrid powertrain for its latest Ranger, which should also flow on to the related VW Amarok (potentially as soon as 2025), which would allow some electric-only running while providing the towing grunt and remote driving range some require in a ute.

When the HiLux Hybrid will arrive is trickier to estimate. We’re expecting the new Prado to be unveiled this year and reports suggest it will include a hybrid system. Given the Prado shares its drivetrain with the HiLux it would seem logical that that the same PHEV powertrain will see duty in a future HiLux Hybrid.

However, the current HiLux is expected to be replaced by an all-new model around 2025. It would seem logical to incorporate the new hybrid drivetrain into that new model and Toyota will be keen to match Ford with a hybrid ute sooner rather than later.

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