Episode 83; Quick Charge :Ford Bronco EREV for Australia, Geely’s Six-Model Push

Ford’s Bronco New Energy appears headed for Australia in 2027, with a range-extender powertrain producing up to 360kW and 600Nm.

Geely has firmed up an enormous six-model Australian expansion over the next 12 months, including two new EVs and four plug-in hybrids, while its rugged Galaxy Cruiser-style 4x4 is now looking increasingly certain.

We also have the first proper specifications for the tiny Smart #2 following its Melbourne teaser, new Australian trademarks pointing towards an electric Jetour SUV and a long-range seven-seat PHEV, confirmed battery and range figures for the cheaper GAC Aion UT we covered yesterday, and a dedicated fleet electrification day coming to Everything Electric Sydney.

YOUTUBE TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Intro
00:38 — Geely locks in six new Australian models
02:47 — Ford Bronco New Energy appears bound for Australia
04:52 — Smart #2 gets its first proper specifications
06:23 — Cheaper Aion UT confirmed with 44kWh battery
07:32 — Jetour trademarks electric SUV and big PHEV
09:05 — Everything Electric Sydney adds dedicated fleet day
10:54 — 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

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G'day, welcome back 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. And this is episode 83 for Wednesday, the 12th of August 2026. And today Gili has firmed up a 6 model Australian expansion. A Ford Dealer appears to have let the Bronco new energy out of the bag. We have our first real specifications for the tiny smart hashtag 2. Jator has filed a stack of new Australian trademarks, and there is a small but important update on the cheaper GAC Aeon UT we covered only just yesterday. Without further ado, let's get into it. The new information is that the next 12 months are now much clearer. Gilea Australia says six additional models are planned, four plug-in hybrids and two battery electric vehicles. The EV side will include a medium sedan and a medium SUV. Gearly has not named them yet, but the sedan is widely expected to be the Galaxy E8. It's a very large, very slippery electric sedan, measuring just over five metres long with a claimed drag coefficient of 0.199. The SUV is a little less certain. One possibility is the heavily updated EX5 already revealed in China, which switches from the current Australian car's 160kW front drive layout to a 245kW rear mounted motor. On the plug-in hybrid side, the roadmap includes a sedan, a medium SUV, and two large SUVs. The M grand EMI remains the likely sedan and it is expected in early 2027. Well the big headline model is the rugged four-wheel drive SUV that is now effectively locked into the roadmap. The Australian name is not confirmed. This is widely expected to be the production version of the Galaxy Cruiser, known as the Zenjian 700 in China. Overseas information points to a flagship plug-in hybrid system producing as much as 830 kW using a 2-litre turbo petrol engine and three electric motors, with reports of a battery around 70 kWh, low range gearing and a locking rear diff. Should be pretty careful here because Australian specifications are not confirmed, but this is clearly not being positioned as a soft city SUV. GLE is also expanding the business beyond the cars. Its Australian network is expected to grow from around 80 showrooms to more than 100 by the end of this year. So the biggest story is not just the one new model. GLE's trying to go from a relatively small three-model brand to a serious full-range player pretty darn quickly. And Ford's Bronco New Energy looks to be coming to Australia in 2027, although is an important sort of qualification here. Ford Australia itself still has not officially announced the vehicle. The strongest confirmation so far came from Queensland dealer Metro Ford, which published a coming soon page for the Bronco New Energy with an expression of interest form. The page is significant, but until Ford Australia makes a formal announcement, I would still describe this as effectively confirmed rather than fully launched. And this is not the American ladder frame Bronco, simply fitted with a battery. The Bronco New Energy is a Chinese built model produced through Ford's joint venture with Jongling Motors and it uses a monocoque construction. It's also pretty big at 5,025mm long, 1,960mm wide, and 1,815mm high. Sitting on a 2950mm wheelbase, it is longer and wider than the Ford Everest currently on sale. Grand clearance is listed at 220mm and Ford quotes a 600mm waiting depth. China gets both full electric and range extender versions, but the Australian model is expected to use the EREV Powertrain that combines a 43.7 kWh LFP battery with a 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine acting primarily as a generator, plus 110kW front motor and 180kW rear motor. Combined output is quoted at 360 kW, 600 Nm with 0 to 100 in about 5.8 seconds. Ford claims around 220km of electric only range, but that's on the Chinese CLTC test, so we take that with a grain of salt and uh 120km of total range with the 63 litre fuel tank. As I said, those range figures will need to be treated pretty cautiously until we get Australian spec and a WLTP test cycle would be nice. Still, if Ford can price it sensibly, this could be a very interesting alternative to vehicles like the Denza B5 and other large electrified off-road SUVs now arriving here. We covered the SMART hashtag 2 back in episode 79 when Smart used a Melbourne mural to tease the tiny electric city car, and at that point the design was pretty much the main story. Now Chinese certification filings have given us some actual dimensions and powertrain information ahead of the car's public debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. Depending on the bumper design, the hashtag 2 measures either 2751 or 2764mm long. It is 1669mm wide, 1555mm high, and sits on a very short 1875mm wheelbase. So despite being a completely new car, it stays very close to the dimensions of the old SmartFa2. The filing lists a 60kW electric motor, a CATL supplied LFP battery, a curb weight of 1130 kilos, and a top speed of 140km per hour. The hashtag 2 rides on Smart's new electric compact architecture with Geerly handling engineering and Mercedes-Benz responsible for design. Australian sales are still not officially confirmed, but after Smart painted the thing on a wall in Melbourne, it'll be pretty strange if Australia was not at least seriously being considered. And just a very quick follow-up on the Aeon UT story from yesterday. Yesterday we knew the GAC was bringing a cheaper, shorter range Aeon UT to Australia before the end of 2026, but I wasn't able to find out the exact battery specifications on that. So I've now been able to find some numbers. GAC says the new entry version will use a 44 kWh battery and deliver up to 320km of WLTP range. Still no pricing though. Current longer range car uses a roughly 60kWh usable LFP battery, produces 150kW and 210 Nm, and offers 430km of WLTP range. So this new version is clearly about removing battery cost rather than trying to win a range contest. But as the uh old carpet ad goes, tell them the price, son. That's gonna be the big question. GAC needs enough separation below the existing Aeon UT to make the shorter range worthwhile. And if it lands properly below 30 grand, the affordable EV fight in Australia is just gonna get a little bit more interesting. JTOR is another brand we have discussed before with its Australian launch already planned for 2027. Some of the new information coming out is from the Australian trademark filings lodged between sort of late July and early August. Among the names filed are the SO6, the TX, T8, T600, and T700. For this show, the interesting ones are the TX and the T8. The TX has appeared in China in production form under the Huanya Z name. I tried pronouncing that like five times, I still think I butchered it, so apologies. It is a battery electric SUV measuring 4,475mm long, 1880mm wide, and 1700mm high, sitting on a 2735mm wheelbase. Powertrain choices include a 200kW single motor version or a dual motor all-wheel drive setup, which uses a 75kW front motor and the same 200kW rear motor. And then there is the much larger T8. Now that is a three-row plug-in hybrid SUV measuring more than 5 meters long with a wheelbase of about 3 metres. Jatour has claimed more than 300km of pure electric range, although detailed specifications and the test cycle behind that figure still need to be clarified. My money is that it's on CLTC. The trademarks do not guarantee that every one of those vehicles will be sold here, but they do show Jatour is preparing more options than the T1, T2, G700, and F700 models already discussed for Australia. And finally, a quick event update for anyone involved in fleets or business vehicles. Fleet News Group has partnered with the fully charged show team on the dedicated B2B EV day at Everything Electric Sydney. And it will run on Friday, the 18th of September, at Sydney Olympic Park, ahead of the broader weekend programme. The business day is aimed at fleet managers, operators and buyers with sessions covering electric passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks, mobile plant, and charging infrastructure. There will also be case studies from finalists and the 2026 Fleet Sustainability Award, along with sessions on charging, energy management, financing, whole of life costs, telematics, vehicle selection, and driver engagement. It's pretty useful because fleet electrification is moving past the simple question of whether an EV can do the job. Probably the harder question is now how do you fund it, charge it, manage it, and prove the numbers work. Sounds like it'd be pretty good and informative for any fleet managers who don't really know too much about the EV industry at all and have just been, you know, could have been doing it a minute or could have been doing it for 30 years and they're just used to the diesels. So just, you know, something to go in with no pressure. You're not going to a sales room for a truck or anything like that, and you're getting a no-pressure environment and just some good old-fashioned education there, and just very quickly. I don't think anybody could have ever guessed when everything electric postponed earlier this year because they just couldn't get enough interest from manufacturers how much it would have exploded now. Uh, they've probably been absolutely inundated with requests now to partner with them. So I think uh they made the right decision. Um a little bit of luck involved in that, but it's going to be a very interesting show. I'm very excited. We've still got a little bit of a ways till it's on, but it's 12th of August now, blinking you'll miss it. And that is episode 83 for Plugged in Australia Quick Charge for Wednesday, the 12th of August 2026. Any segments that we have covered today that you'd like me to cover in the deep dive for the week, just leave a comment on your preferred platform that you're listening to this on or send me an email info at pluggedinaustralia.com.au. As always, I'll very much appreciate you listening. Hope you learned something new. And until the next time, stay plugged in and stay charged. Chevy the ammo.