Quick Charge Episode 66; Tesla FSD v14, Kia PV5 and Australia’s New Affordable EV Wave

QUICK CHARGE DESCRIPTION
In this Quick Charge edition of Plugged In Australia, we cover the biggest stories from Episode 66: Tesla Full Self-Driving Supervised v14 rolling out in Australia, Tesla reaching 1000 Supercharger stalls locally, Kia confirming the PV5 electric people mover, Leapmotor upgrading the C10 and confirming another affordable EV, the BYD Shark 6 Performance parts delay, Forthing launching the Taikon 5, and fresh updates from Geely, Chery, Porsche, Denza, Maserati, BMW and Honda.

QUICK CHARGE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:42 Tesla FSD Supervised v14 rolls out in Australia
1:34 Tesla Supercharger milestone and Cybercab testing
2:07 Kia PV5 Passenger confirmed
3:15 Leapmotor C10 upgrade and B03X confirmed
4:24 BYD Shark 6 Performance parts delay
4:59 Forthing Taikon 5 launches from $36,990 drive-away
8:55 Geely EX2, EX5 facelift and Lepas L6
6:20 Chery Stockman PHEV ute
7:06 Porsche Taycan fake shifts and no electric 911
7:36 Denza N9, Maserati Folgore and BMW iX5 
8:26 Honda Super-One & NSW road-user-charge debate
9:20 Outro

Disclaimer:

All specifications, pricing, and information discussed in this episode were correct at the time of recording. The electric vehicle market moves quickly, so we recommend you always check the latest details directly with manufacturers, dealers, or official sources.

This podcast provides general news and information only, based on publicly available sources and Australian Consumer Law guidelines. It is not legal, financial, or professional advice. For advice specific to your situation, please contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) or seek independent professional guidance.

Plugged in Australia and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions, misunderstandings, or purchases made based on the content of this show.

Sourcing & Transparency

At Plugged in Australia, all our stories are sourced from publicly available news articles and reports. We do not receive any advance information or briefings from brands or manufacturers.

Any analysis or opinions we share are based solely on this public information.

Our main sources include (though we also use many others, and they vary by episode):

• https://www.carsales.com.au/
• https://www.carexpert.com.au/
• https://thedriven.io/
• https://www.carsguide.com.au
• https://autotalk.com.au
• https://www.carsguide.com.au
• https://evcentral.com.au
• https://www.drive.com.au

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

G'day, welcome to Plugged in Australia Quick Charge, the shorter version of the show for when you want the main EV news without the full deep dive. This is Quick Charge for episode 66, Tuesday, the 23rd of June 2026. And today we've got Tesla's full self-driving supervised version 14 rolling out in Australia. Tesla hitting 1,000 supercharger stores locally, Kia confirming an electric people mover. Leap Motor upgrading the C10, Four Thing launching with very sharp prices, and a wave of new EVs and plug-in hybrids from Geely, Cherry, Porsche, Denza, Maserati, BMW, and Honda. Whew, it's a lot happening. Let's get into it. Alright, first up, Tesla has started rolling out full self-driving supervised, aka FSD, version 14 in Australia and New Zealand. The keyword is still supervised. Now this doesn't make your Tesla autonomous and the driver still needs to watch the road and be ready to take over. But version 14 is a meaningful update for owners with compatible hardware for cars who have paid for FSD or subscribe it. Tesla says the system reacts around 20% faster, makes better decisions in poor visibility, handles obstacles and lane changes a little bit better, and improves driver monitoring. It also brings better behaviour around emergency vehicles, school buses, complex traffic lights, and unusual road situations. The practical takeaway is that Tesla's driver assist system is getting more capable in Australia, but it's still not a robo taxi and you are still the driver. Tesla also passed 1,000 supercharger stores in Australia with the milestone site opening in Byron Bay. The site uses V4 hardware and helps push Tesla's local network beyond 150 supercharger locations. That matters not only for Tesla owners, but increasingly for non-Tesla EV drivers as more sites open to other brands. And in our region, Tesla Cybercab prototypes have been spotted in New Zealand on their way to cold weather testing. That's not a confirmation for Australia, unfortunately, but it does show Tesla is testing two-seat autonomous robotaxi in the Southern Hemisphere. And next, Kia has confirmed the PV5 passenger for Australia. This is the seven-seat people mover version of Kia's electric van platform. It's due in late 2026 and it will sit alongside the Carnival, but it's a little bit smaller and obviously fully electric. The PV5 is expected to use the same drivetrain as the cargo version, a 120kW-250Nm front motor with a 71.2 kWh battery. The passenger version is expected to offer around 390km of WLTP range. The cargo version is rated at 416km. Now pricing is not locked in, however, Kia is indicating the passenger version shouldn't be dramatically more expensive than the cargo van. A mid-60s price point looks possible, which could put it in the same general zone as a mid-level diesel carnival. This could be a very useful vehicle for families, for community transport, disability transport, airports, hotels, and fleets. Kia is only targeting modest numbers at first, however, the PV5 could become an important electric people mover in Australia. Elite Motor has also had a big week. The C10 design long range now gets a bigger 81.9 kWh LFP battery, 510km of WLTP range, 220 kW of power, a 6.2 second 0 to 100 time, and 800 volt architecture with up to 180 kW DC charging. The price stays at 49888 before on roads. That's a strong upgrade over the old design, which has had a 69.9 kWh battery, 420km of range and a much slower DC charging rate. LeapMotor has also confirmed the B03X or the B03X small electric SUV for Australia, expected late in 2026. This could be a real budget EV contender, potentially competing with the ADO1, ADO2, MG4, and Gili EX2. And on the software side, Leapmotor says the annoying ADAS beeps in modern cars could improve, but they will not disappear completely. This is because many of those alerts are tied to safety regulations and 5-star safety rating requirements. The real challenge is tuning them so that they help rather than annoy. BYD's Shark 6 performance has arrived in Australia, but some vehicles have landed without all of their underbody protection fitted. BYD says it's not a safety issue and does not affect the performance of the vehicle, and buyers can either wait for the missing parts or take delivery and have it retrofitted later. The Shark 6 performance is a serious upgrade with a 2-litre turbo petrol plug-in hybrid system producing 350kW and 700 Nm plus a 3.5 tonne braked tone capacity. But for a U marketed with off-road capability, missing underbody protections, not a good launch look. Now onto 4 Thing, the new 4thing Take On 5 launches in Australia with both battery electric and range extender versions. Pricing starts at 36990 drive away for the range extender hybrid luxury, while the BEV Luxury starts at 38990. The BEV uses a 64kWh LFP battery and offers 427km of WLTP. The range extender version has a 31kWh LFP battery, 170km of electric only WLTP range, and a 937km total combined WLTP range. That makes the range extender version the cheapest E-Rev in Australia at the moment, and the BEV one of the cheapest mid-size electric SUVs. The catch is that Four Thing is a brand new brand here, rather, the Takeon 5 has not yet been hand cap rated, the and buyers will want to check the dealer and server support pretty carefully, although it is being imported by Atico, which is pretty experienced in these sorts of things. GLE is preparing the EX2 electric hatch for Australia, expected in the third quarter of 2026. It is a compact rear-wheel drive and could land around $30,000 mark if GLE prices it aggressively. The EX5 is also getting a facelift overseas, with a big shift from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive and power rising to 245 kilowatts. Timing for Australia is not confirmed, but it shows GLE is moving pretty quickly. Cherry has confirmed the Leapers 6 Electric SUV for Australia in the fourth quarter of 2026. It uses a 65 kWh battery, a 160kW front motor, and has a claimed range of around 450km, though the test cycle still needs confirmation. Cherry has also named its first Australian Ute, the Stockman. It is set to become Australia's first diesel plug-in hybrid Ute, with a 2.5 litre Turbo Diesel FEV arriving first, followed closely by a petrol FEV, well not closely, the next year. Expected figures include 350kW, 800 Nm and a 34 kWh battery, 1 tonne payload and 3.5 tonne towing. Not sure if they'll do both of those at the same time, but we'll see how we go. Porsche's are adding simulated gear shifts to the updated Taikan through a system called eShift. It gives the EV 8 virtual gears, shift feel, engine braking behaviour and a stronger sound, similar to that found in the Hyundai Ionic 5N. And at the same time, Porsche has ruled out a fully electric 911. The 911 will continue with combustion and hybrid technology, but not as full EV. That tells us that Porsche is still committed to EVs, but it is being careful with most emotional models. And at the premium end, Denza's massive N96 plug-in hybrid SUV has been spotted testing in Australia in right-hand drive. It has a 2 litre turbo engine, 3 electric motors, around 680kW and 1035 Nm of torque, and a huge claimed electric range on the Chinese cycle. Maserati's updated Grecale Foliere is due in Australia in 2027 with the same 105 kWh battery and 410kWal motor setup, but improved real-world range thanks to aero, tire, and thermal updates. BMW has revealed the electric AIX5 with its biggest ever battery, up to 144 kWh depending on the market. It's got 425 kW in the M60 form as well. It is not confirmed for Australia yet, but it would make sense given how important the X5 is in this market. Honda has also revealed specs for its tiny Super 1 Electric City car, which is headed to Australia later this year. It has a 29.6 kWh battery, 206km of WLTP range, 47kW normally and 70kW in boost mode. And it's got a simulated shifting for a little bit of fun. A la Porsche. Finally, the New South Wales Road User Charge debate is back. The state is looking at charging EVs and plug-in hybrids by distance from July 2027. Supporters say road funding needs to adapt as fuel excise declines, but critics say charging EVs too early could slow adoption and repeat the problems Victoria faced when its EV charge was struck down by the High Court. The Ferris long-term answer is probably a national system that applies to all vehicles and accounts for weight and distance and avoids double charging drivers, but getting there is going to be messy. And that's it for Quick Charge episode 66 for Tuesday, the 23rd of June 2026. For the full episode, we go deeper into all the stories that we mentioned here today. That if you want all the specs, make sure you have a listen to that. And just quickly, while I've got you here, I did mention it on the full episode that uh moving forward I'm going to be doing one full episode a week. Unless it's an extremely busy week, may do two, but just finding it a little bit difficult to do so many of the full episodes every week. Um, as you can see, the I haven't done one of these for about a week. I think for the longevity of the podcast, even though I haven't been doing it for that long, uh, I need to sort of pace it a little bit. So we will have the quick charge episode on a daily basis or every second or third day, depending on what news is out there. And then on a Friday or a Saturday, we will do our full deep dive episode and cover everything in just a little bit more detail. Thank you all very much for listening, and until the next time, stay plugged in and stay charged. Chevy the ammo.