Best hybrids coming to Australia in 2024 and 2025

Sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles have nearly doubled so far this year, and are growing faster than any other popular vehicle fuel type in Australia.

Two-thirds of the conventional hybrid total – excluding plug-ins – wear Toyota badges, but the likes of BYD, GWM, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, MG and Nissan are also enjoying record demand for their petrol-electric cars.

A torrent of new petrol-electric vehicles are bound for Australian showrooms by the end of 2025, from the country's first plug-in hybrid utes, to high-end sports and luxury cars.

Many manufacturers of upcoming plug-in hybrids are in a race against time to get their new models into showrooms before an exemption on Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) for novated leases of these vehicles ends in April 2025.

Here's what to expect.

One of the most hotly-anticipated new models coming to Australia in the next 12 months, the BYD Shark 6 is the company's first dual-cab ute.

It combines a small 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with two electric motors for a combined power output of 321kW – greater than a Ford Ranger Raptor – with claimed 0-100km/h acceleration of 5.7 seconds, as quick as many hot hatchbacks.

Fuel consumption with a near-empty battery is a claimed 7.9L/100km, while its battery enables up to 100km of quoted electric driving range.

It is priced from $57,900 plus on-road costs in its single Premium model grade.

One of multiple new Cupra plug-in hybrids coming to Australia in 2025, the Leon small car is due for its mid-life facelift.

It will be offered as a hatchback, with the strong chance of a Sportstourer wagon option for the first time.

Power is up to 200kW from an updated 1.5-litre turbo-petrol plug-in hybrid system – replacing the current model's 1.4-litre engine – while a larger 19.7kWh battery delivers up to 100km of claimed electric driving range.

There's an updated interior with a larger touchscreen and illuminated control sliders, plus revisions to the exterior styling, and a new Sennheiser sound system.

Mirroring changes to the Cupra Leon, the updated version of the Volkswagen-owned Spanish manufacturer's top-selling plug-in hybrid is poised for local showrooms in the second half of 2025.

It also replaces the current Formentor VZe's 180kW 1.4-litre turbo-petrol plug-in hybrid system with a 200kW version based around a new 1.5-litre engine, with the same enlarged 19.7kWh battery for a similar circa-100km claimed electric driving range.

Further changes include an updated interior with a larger touchscreen and illuminated control sliders, and more aggressive exterior styling.

Australia's top-selling new vehicle is about to gain the option of hybrid power.

The plug-in hybrid version of the Ford Ranger ute is due in Australian showrooms in the first half of 2025, combining a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor.

Ford has published few specifications of its first-ever plug-in hybrid ute, but it has confirmed it will claim 45km of electric-only driving range, which it says is ample as its data shows about half of Ranger owners travel less than 40km a day.

It will be available on XLT, Sport, Wildtrak and Stormtrak model grades, and maintain the 3500kg braked towing capacity of most Ranger variants, though only in the vehicle's hybrid mode.

Prices have not been announced at the time of writing, but if other plug-in hybrid vehicles are a guide, it may command a premium of $10,000 to $15,000 over diesel variants.

The Ranger PHEV will be manufactured in South Africa, with which Australia lacks a Free Trade Agreement – not Thailand, which Australia has a Free Trade Agreement with, like other Ranger grades – so it will attract a 5 per cent import tariff.

New Chinese ute brand JAC is expected to introduce a plug-in hybrid variant of its latest model for Australia, the T9 pick-up, next year.

Preliminary specifications published in South Africa indicate the plug-in hybrid will combine a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with a 26.8kWh battery pack for claimed fuel consumption of 3.3L/100km in lab testing.

Jaecoo, an upcoming offshoot of growing Chinese car manufacturer Chery, is preparing to launch its first model with a choice of petrol or plug-in hybrid power.

The J7 – a mid-size SUV similar in size to a Toyota RAV4 – is planned to add a plug-in hybrid option combining a 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor for combined outputs of 255kW and 525Nm.

Specifications published in Jaecoo's home market indicate up to 89km of claimed electric-only driving range, or nearly 1200km in hybrid mode with a full tank of fuel, and recharged battery.

Lamborghini's top seller is going green, in more than just its exterior colour.

The Urus SE combines a familiar 456kW/800Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 with a 141kW/483Nm electric motor and 25.7kWh battery, the latter enabling a claimed electric driving range of 60km.

The petrol engine has between 22kW and 34kW less than the non-hybrid Urus variants the SE replaces, but the combined petrol-electric power output of 588kW is nearly 100kW greater than the previous top-of-the-range version.

Lamborghini says the 0-100km/h acceleration sprint can be covered in just 3.4 seconds, though at about 2.5 tonnes, the plug-in hybrid Urus isn't a lightweight.

Prices start from $457,834 plus on-road costs in Australia – more than the Urus S ($409,744) but less than the Urus Performante ($465,876).

MG's top-selling model in Australia, the ZS compact SUV, has welcomed a hybrid version for the all-new model in showrooms now with a redesigned body, and all-new twin-screen cabin.

The 'Hybrid+' will initially be the only engine choice, combining a 75kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 100kW/250Nm electric motor for a combined output of 158kW.

Prices start from $33,990 drive-away for the Excite grade.

Petrol MG HS.

The latest generation of the MG HS family SUV is set to chase the Toyota RAV4 with not one, but two hybrid variants: a conventional 'plug-less' hybrid, and a long-range plug-in hybrid.

Technical specifications of the regular hybrid have not been announced, but in the UK, the PHEV combines a 105kW 1.5-litre petrol engine with a 154kW electric motor for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 6.8 seconds.

An enlarged 24.7kWh battery – up from 16.6kWh in the outgoing HS Plus EV plug-in hybrid – is claimed to enable an electric-only driving range of 120km.

The new HS wears sharper styling than its predecessor, with an all-new interior home to twin 12.3-inch screens, and a longer list of advanced safety technology.

One of Australia's most popular plug-in hybrids, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, is about to receive an update with new styling, improved technology and a longer electric driving range.

Mitsubishi Australia has confirmed the updated Outlander range is due in local showrooms next year.

Changes include a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen to replace today's 9.0-inch display, plus a new 12-speaker Yamaha stereo, a new 20-inch wheel design, and a larger battery pack to increase the electric driving range beyond the 84km of today's model.

A new flagship version of the Porsche Panamera luxury sedan is due in Australian showrooms imminently.

The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is the fastest vehicle in the so-called 'executive cars' category to lap Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife race track, completing a tour of the circuit 5.64 seconds faster than its petrol-only, previous-generation Turbo S predecessor.

It is the most powerful Panamera ever, combining a 441kW/800Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 with a 140kW/450Nm electric motor for combined outputs of 575kW/1000Nm.

It's aided by a 25.9kWh battery pack capable of a claimed 92km of electric-only driving range, matching the cheaper Turbo E-Hybrid already in Australian showrooms with 500kW/930Nm outputs from a version of the same V8 hybrid system.

Turbo S E-Hybrid prices start from $486,100 plus on-road costs, with options and on-road costs likely to be capable of a circa-$600,000 drive-away sticker.

One of the world's most iconic sports cars has adopted hybrid power, with the mid-life update for the latest-generation '992' Porsche 911.

Using technology developed for Porsche's Le Mans-winning 919 race car, the 911 'T-Hybrid' is initially available in GTS form, combining a new 3.6-litre single-turbo six-cylinder engine with an electric motor inside the transmission, and a small 1.9kWh lithium-ion battery.

Outputs from the system are 398kW and 610Nm – up 45kW/40Nm on the previous non-hybrid 3.0-litre twin-turbo GTS – for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 3.0 seconds, down 0.4sec.

The 911 hybrid differs from its exotic-car rivals in that its battery cannot be recharged externally, rather it harvests energy from the flow of exhaust gases, recuperating up to 11kW – as long as the turbo is spinning.

The Toyota Camry was Australia's top-selling mid-size sedan for 28 years, until its winning streak came to an end at the hand of the Tesla Model 3 in 2022.

A new Camry is here to renew Toyota's challenge for the crown, now offered only as a hybrid after the petrol-electric version of the outgoing model accounted for more than 90 per cent of deliveries.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

Read more about Alex Misoyannis