Kilowatt Chronicles | EV News & Insights5 Major Electric Car Updates

ChargeNet CEO recommends Aus style leasing for EVs

Chief executive of New Zealand’s leading public charger network, ChargeNet has recently suggested the country should consider novated lease schemes similar to those offered in Australia. CEO Danusia Wypych thinks it would help middle income families get into brand new EVs without having to worry about the upfront cost. (Image courtesy: AA NZ)

Tesla maintains lead over BYD in NZ

Tesla models have outsold BYD by 592 cars at the end of August 2026. This is a healthy 25% lead by the the brand. It is yet to be seen how the world’s top two EV brands perform in the last two quarters in New Zealand. (Image courtesy: EVDB)

Mahindra EV spotted in Australia

Mahindra Australia has imported a XEV 9e fully electric car in order to showcase it to the dealer network. The Indian company may consider bringing in a range of electric cars including the 7 seater XEV 9s and the BE 6. (Image courtesy: Drive)

EV sales double in Japan by the end of second quarter

By almost doubling the central government EV subsidy to US$ 8000 (NZ$13,3500), Japan has seen a proportionate increase in year-to-date EV sales in 2026. Honda Motor secured 10,000 orders for its bold Kei car type electric car, Super-ONE. (Image courtesy: Honda NZ)

Chinese automakers engage less in policy debates compared to Japanese counterparts

A survey by think tank InfluenceMap suggests Chinese automakers like BYD and Geely invested less time and resources to engage with policy makers in select locations as compared to legacy Japanese counterparts like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. (Image courtesy: Driven IO)