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Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new.
In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.
Key examples are the latest Suzuki Swift, Toyota Camry and BMW 1 Series.
Although Toyota advertises the Prado as all new, it uses 300 Series underpinnings and a carry-over diesel four-cylinder. Indeed, Australia’s bestselling Ford Ranger’s bones are from 2010.
And why wouldn’t that happen, if the previous base was sound and up-to-date? It potentially saves millions, if not billions, in unnecessary development. Plus, swish new clothes are often enough for buyers to trade up, anyway.
Here, then, is a list of the actual, truly all-new models released in 2024.
Obviously, new-to-Australia brands like Zeekr, Xpeng and Deepal are excluded from this list because all of their cars are new to us.
MG3
Until recently Australia’s cheapest new car, the previous-generation MG3 dated back to 2011, and so was already half-a-decade old when it launched here quietly in 2016. A facelift followed two years later.
Ushering a fresh body, cabin and hybrid powertrain, today’s 'ZP22' debuted a new architecture shared with the ZS small SUV.
Mini J01 Cooper Electric
At a glance it may look like every other BMW-era Mini since 2001, and the petrol-powered F66 model is really just a reskin (and slight stretch) of the 2013 F56.
But the J01 Cooper, a joint-venture model with GWM of China, is brand-spanking.
Crisper, cleaner styling with subtly different proportions, a knockout interior and all-new EV-only architecture coalesce to ably capture some of the charisma and agility of the 1959 British Motor Corporation’s Morris 850 original. We’re living for it.
The same should apply to 2025’s Aceman five-door crossover version.
Volvo EX30
Terrifically nimble and annoyingly appealing, the EX30 is Volvo’s smallest SUV to date, and owes plenty to parent Geely’s SEA Sustainable Experience Architecture tech. It was the first with it sold in Australia.
Polestar 4
Geely-owned Polestar, formerly Volvo’s in-house performance entity and now a stand-alone EV-only brand, released its first SUV model in the seductive Polestar 4. And guess what it shares so much underneath with?
Aimed at the Tesla Model Y, it brings another iteration of the EX30’s SEA toolkit. An un-boxy box-fresh crossover for buyers still lamenting the demise of Saab.
Lotus Emeya
The English brand’s first-ever sedan (if you ignore the Lotus Cortina and Lotus Carton of the Swinging ‘60s and early ‘90s respectively but why would you possibly want to?) is a high-performance five-door liftback version of the company’s first SUV, the Eletre. Both are EVs derived from Geely’s Electric Premium Architecture, and are built in China. All-new, but hardly on-brand.
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
VW’s natty retro EV van, released elsewhere back in 2022 but just launched in Australia, is derived from the MEB architecture that has underpinned the related ID.3 hatchback since 2019.
MG Cyberster
China’s MG celebrated the brand’s 100 non-consecutive years in existence with the dramatically styled and unfeasibly fast Cyberster two-seater EV sports car, using a similar platform as found in the far-more mundane MG4 hatch. Not that you’d ever know it.
Maserati GranTurismo II
The swoon-worthy GT2 employs an extensively-modified iteration of owner Stellantis’ acclaimed Giorgio platform, which debuted back in 2016 under the desirable Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and later the Stelvio SUV. Novel for the lucky Maserati drivers then, but also keep in mind the Folgore EV version is, in fact, totally ground-up new.
Jeep Avenger
The charming little Jeep Avenger replaces the gawky yet cuddly Jeep Renegade (remember that?) that had platform links with the previous Opel Corsa-related Holden Barina via GM/Fiat’s 2000s tie-up.
In that same spirit, the charming Avenger is a cleverly restyled Peugeot 2008-derived city-sized light SUV, riding on the STLA-Small architecture formerly known as CMP in Pug-speak.
Its fraternal twins also include the AWOL-from-Oz Alfa Romeo Junior, Peugeot 208, DS 3 Crossback, Fiat 600 and Opel’s Corsa F/Mokka B duo. So, new to Jeep buyers then.
Chery Tiggo 4
The new-to-Australia Tiggo 4 adheres to the classic recipe of an older vehicle tarted up with facelift(s) and updated multimedia tech to keep it looking young-ish. Hello Mitsubishi ASX, that debuted in December, 2009. But unlike the latter, the Chinese city SUV is a relative spring chicken at eight years old. Still, new to us. And astonishingly cheap.
Hyundai Santa Fe
Beneath the striking fifth-gen Santa Fe’s polarising new threads is an updated and reworked version of the Hyundai Motor Group’s N3 architecture that’s done duty under scores of equally-impressive mid-to-large sedans and SUVs. A spokesperson has described HMG’s platform deployment as a modular, interconnected toolkit combining new and/or updated tech as required. Let’s file this as a grey area then: all-new-ish.
Smart #1, #3
The lovechild of Mercedes and Geely, the adorably goofy #1 SUV and its sassy #3 coupe crossover sidekick are yet more recipients of the latter’s SEA EV architecture. See Volvo EX30 for similarities underneath. All-new, then, to Smart.
Polestar 3
You’d never know by looking at it, but the Polestar 3 is very much based on the Volvo/Swedish-developed EX90 full-sized SUV, though minus the third row of seating (and other brand-specific detailing). It debuts the latter’s brand-new SPA2 all-EV architecture with extraordinary results.
BYD Sealion 6
Bravo to BYD for reframing value-for-money perceptions in Australia. The Sealion 6 shakes up the midsize SUV plug-in hybrid sector by combining effective tech with attainable pricing in a gadget-laden family-friendly package. Not new though, dating back to 2020 in its native China, but facelifted in 2023 and so fresh to Australian eyes.
BYD Shark 6
Can’t get newer than the Shark 6, Australia’s first-ever PHEV ute. Expected to be joined soon by its Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 body-on-frame SUV cousin. Look out, Prado!
Kia EV5
The first fruit of Kia’s collaboration with China’s Dongfeng group under the Jiangsu Yueda Kia Motors joint venture, the Yancheng-built EV5 looks as modern and state-of-the-art as a 2025 SUV can, especially inside.
Keeping prices in check, the platform is a modified, EV-compatible version of HMG’s N3 architecture serving Kia’s Sportage and scores of other models too, and not HMG’s advanced E-GMP architecture that has been so transformative underneath the Hyundai Ioniq 5/6/9 trio as well as Kia’s EV6 and EV9.
Leapmotor C10
Another startlingly inexpensive EV, the Leapmotor C10 is sized between a Toyota RAV4 and Kluger, for under $50K. It uses an all-new EV architecture, and is a prime example of China’s obsession with Software Driven Vehicle development, that slashes development times and costs.
MG HS
MG’s popular RAV4 rival may seem like a smart reskin of the 2018-vintage original, but the HS II switches to an all-new platform shared with other SAIC models in China – namely the Roewe RX5.
Does Mazda know about that name?
KGM SsangYong Torres
SsangYong’s chunky midsized SUV is a rebodied version of the slightly-smaller Korando. Carryover tech, fashionable looks inside and out.
Audi Q4 e-tron
Elegant and contemporary though it is, Audi’s first EV in Australia based on a dedicated platform leverages VW’s ageing MEB architecture, as found in the 2019-vintage VW ID.3.
Porsche Macan Electric
They don’t get much newer or brighter than Porsche’s Premium Platform Electric PPE all-EV architecture. Look for it underneath the coming Audi Q6/A6 e-tron twins as well.
Toyota bZ4X/Subaru Solterra
Though tuned and marketed differently with some varying visual details, the bZ4X and Solterra are twins, using a dedicated EV platform based on the Toyota New Global Architecture that broke cover in the middle of last decade. See also the Lexus RZ EV SUV.
GWM Tank 500/Cannon Alpha
New to Australians in 2024, the Tank 500 dates back to 2021 in China, and is an SUV based on the GWM Cannon Alpha ute with roots back to 2019.
Renault Kangoo 3
Replacing a model that first saw the light of day in France during 2007, the third-gen Kangoo debuted in 2020, and uses a flexible architecture underpinning lots of Renaults, Nissans, Dacias and others.
Still, if you drive the old Kangoo, this one will feel all-new.
Mitsubishi Triton
Mitsubishi has spent more than half a decade developing the all-new platform underneath the latest Triton, which will also be modified for the coming Nissan Navara from 2026.
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