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Looking for an electric SUV to fit your family in but don't know who's who? You've come to the right place. Here are the medium SUVs you can buy in Australia today for less than $60k, and what's on the horizon next year.
Electric Cars
Medium SUVs are consistently Australia's favourite-sized vehicle due to their generous levels of space, practical family features and higher ride height, all within a relatively small footprint – but until now the options for models with a fully-electric powertrain at an affordable price-point have been limited.
As 2024 draws to a close and we head into 2025, that's all about to change, with as many as 12 already on sale or due to arrive in the coming months.
While most people have heard of the Tesla Model Y – often cited as the benchmark in this category – and also recognise Kia as a household name, there are several new and developing brands bringing electric vehicles to Australia you may not have heard of.
Here's what you can buy now with a $60,000 budget, and what's headed our way in the near future you might want to wait for.
The BYD Atto 3 has been on sale in Australia since 2022, though the model was given an update with tweaks to the design and features earlier in 2024.
It comes in two forms – the Standard and the Extended, rated with 345km and 420km of driving range respectively.
The BYD Sealion 7 is the fully-electric equivalent of the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid SUV which arrived in Australia in 2024.
Confirmed for Australia, it is expected to arrive early in 2025. Pricing for the model has yet to be revealed but is likely to start from around $55,000 before on-road costs.
There will be two model grades for the Sealion 7, standard- and long-range, rated with driving ranges of 550km and 610km.
The Deepal S07 is one of the most recent competitors to enter the market, with the electric family SUV now on sale locally from $53,990 before on-road costs.
Compared to the Tesla Model Y, the S07 has a greater driving range rating, but is slower to charge and less powerful.
It's the Korean car maker's first EV to be made in China, unlike the larger EV6 and EV9 SUVs, and has been priced competitively to match the Model Y.
It is offered with standard-range front-wheel drive, long-range front-wheel drive, and long-range all-wheel-drive variations, which results in WLTP driving range ratings between 400km and 555km depending on configuration.
It can be had in two guises – Style and Design – rated with a 420km driving range.
Leapmotor is a car brand backed by Stellantis – the parent company of car makers such as Jeep, Ram and Peugeot – and the C10 is its first model to arrive locally.
The C10 will be in Australian showrooms from November 2024.
The e-3008 has previously been confirmed for Australia, and could still arrive next year, but exact timings are yet to be set in stone.
The model is already on sale in Europe in either Allure or GT specification, with driving range ratings of either 525km or 700km (WLTP) depending on whether standard or long range is chosen.
At present, the petrol-powered 3008 retails in Australia for around $50,000, so getting the electric version in under $60,000 might be tricky.
It's the company's largest-ever vehicle, and is a joint venture between Chinese firm Geely and Mercedes-Benz, which designed it in Germany.
Two variants were revealed at the launch in 2024 – the Smart #5 Premium+ and #5 Summit Edition – though pricing for both is still as yet unknown.
As an emerging Chinese car maker, Skywell might be a name you haven't heard before, even though it does already sell its EC11 van here.
Pricing hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's expected the ET5 will cost around $55,000 for the base model – with a higher-spec version also set to be offered.
Likely to be renamed the EVA 5 for the Australian market, it's rated with a 400km driving range for the base model and 490km for the top grade.
As a pioneer in the electric car space, it's no surprise the Tesla is the car everyone compares everything else to.
Currently priced from $55,990, there are three model grades – Rear-Wheel Drive, Long Range All-Wheel Drive, and Performance All-Wheel Drive.
The driving range ratings, based on WLTP, start from 455km for the base variant, going up to 533km for the mid-spec, and 514km for the performance version – though it's worth noting only the entry-level model fits within this story's $60,000 budget.
Volkswagen's first electric vehicle to come to Australia will be the ID.4 mid-size SUV, following long delays.
It's expected pricing will be revealed imminently, with the first cars coming to showrooms in December 2024.
The ID.4 will first arrive in a single, long-range, rear-wheel-drive variant, rated for 544km of driving range.
One of the newest and also cheapest players in the segment is the XPeng G6, which is priced from $54,800 before on-road costs.
Currently it is offered in two forms – Standard Range and Long Range – with a performance variant to follow in 2025.
The WLTP-rated driving range for the Standard is 455km, while the Long offers a higher 570km.
Chinese car maker Zeekr launched its first vehicle – the X SUV – in Australia last month, priced from $56,900.
However, despite not being first, the larger 7X coming in 2025 is expected to be the marque's most popular model.
With another model already in the $50-60,000 space, bringing another in under $60k might not be possible, although Zeekr may well choose to do so to remain competitive with the Tesla Model Y.
Other than a pencilled-in 2025 launch, not much else is known about the Zeekr 7X – with driving range, pricing and other features yet to be announced.
Electric Cars Guide
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
