Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t that new.

In fact, much of it is reskinned versions of the above, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard spots.

Key examples are the latest Suzuki Swift, Toyota Camry and BMW 1 Series.

Although Toyota is touting the Prado as all-new, it uses 300-series underpinnings and a carryover four-cylinder diesel. Indeed, the bones of Australia’s best-selling Ford Ranger date from 2010.

And why wouldn’t this happen if the old base was solid and up to date? This would save millions, if not billions, in unnecessary development. Chic new clothes are often enough for shoppers to trade in anyway.

Here is a list of the real new models released in 2024.

Obviously, brands new to Australia like Zeekr, Xpeng and Deepal are excluded from this list because all their cars are new to us.

MG3

Until recently, Australia’s cheapest new car, the previous generation MG3 dated back to 2011, so was already half a decade old when it was quietly launched here in 2016. A facelift followed two years later .

Ushering in a new body, new interior and new hybrid powertrain, today’s “ZP22” debuted a new architecture shared with the ZS small SUV.

Mini J01 Cooper electric

At a glance, it may look like every other Mini in the BMW era since 2001, and the gas-powered F66 model is really just a redesign (and slight stretch) of the 2013 F56.

But the J01 Cooper, a joint venture model with GWM of China, is a stunning brand.

Sharper, sleeker styling with subtly different proportions, a stunning interior and all-new EV-only architecture come together to expertly capture some of the charisma and agility of the British Motor Corporation’s original Morris 850 from 1959. We live for it.

The same should apply to the 2025 Aceman five-door crossover version.

VolvoEX30

Terrifiedly agile and incredibly attractive, the EX30 is Volvo’s smallest SUV to date and owes much to Geely’s SEA Sustainable Experience Architecture technology. It was the first sold in Australia.

North Star 4

Geely-owned Polestar, formerly Volvo’s in-house performance arm and now a standalone brand exclusively for electric vehicles, has launched its first SUV model in the attractive Polestar 4. And guess what it shares so much with underneath ?

Aimed at the Tesla Model Y, it brings another iteration of the EX30’s SEA toolkit. A fresh, box-free crossover for buyers still lamenting the demise of Saab.

Lotus Emeya

The English brand’s first ever saloon (if you ignore the Lotus Cortina and Lotus Carton of the Swinging 60s and early 90s respectively, but why would you?) is a high-performance five-door liftback version of the company’s first sedan. SUV, Being. Both are electric vehicles derived from Geely’s premium electric architecture and are built in China. Brand new, but barely on brand.

Volkswagen identifier. Buzz

VW’s pretty retro EV van, released elsewhere in 2022 but only just launched in Australia, is derived from the MEB architecture that underpins the related ID.3 sedan since 2019.

MG Cyberster

Chinese company MG celebrated the brand’s 100 non-consecutive years with the spectacularly styled and incredibly fast Cyberster two-seater EV sports car, using a similar platform to the much more mundane MG4 sedan. Not that you’ll ever know.

Maserati Gran Turismo II

The swoon-worthy GT2 uses a heavily modified iteration of owner Stellantis’ famous Giorgio platform, which debuted in 2016 under the desirable Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and later Stelvio SUV. New for happy Maserati drivers then, but also keep in mind that the Folgore EV version is, in fact, completely new.

Jeep Avenger

The charming little Jeep Avenger replaces the gangly yet cuddly Jeep Renegade (remember that?) which had platform ties to the previous Holden Barina linked to the Opel Corsa via the GM/Fiat tie-up of the years 2000.

In this same spirit, the charming Avenger is a light, urban-sized SUV derived from the intelligently restyled Peugeot 2008, based on the STLA-Small architecture formerly known as CMP in Carlin parlance.

Its fraternal twins also include Oz’s Alfa Romeo Junior AWOL, Peugeot 208, DS 3 Crossback, Fiat 600 and Opel’s Corsa F/Mokka B duo. So, new for Jeep buyers.

Chery Tiggo4

The new Tiggo 4 in Australia adheres to the classic recipe of an older vehicle spruced up with one or more facelifts and updated multimedia technology to give it a youthful appearance. Hello Mitsubishi ASX, which debuted in December 2009. But unlike the latter, the Chinese city SUV is a relative spring chicken at eight years old. Still, new for us. And surprisingly cheap.

Hyundai Santa Fe

Beneath the fifth-generation Santa Fe’s polarizing new threads lies an updated and reworked version of Hyundai Motor Group’s N3 architecture that has proven itself under dozens of equally impressive mid- to large-size sedans and SUVs . A spokesperson described the HMG platform deployment as a modular, interconnected toolkit combining new and/or updated technologies as needed. Let’s classify this as a gray area: brand new.

Smart #1, #3

The love child of Mercedes and Geely, the adorable SUV No. 1 and its sassy crossover coupe sidekick No. 3 are even more recipients of the latter’s SEA EV architecture. See Volvo EX30 for similarities below. Brand new for Smart.

North Star 3

You’d never know it by looking at it, but the Polestar 3 is largely based on the full-size EX90 SUV developed by Volvo and Sweden, but without the third row of seats (and other brand-specific details). It launches the latter’s all-new SPA2 all-EV architecture with extraordinary results.

BYD Sea Lion 6

Well done to BYD for reframing the perception of value for money in Australia. The Sealion 6 shakes up the mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV sector by combining efficient technology with affordable pricing in a gadget-laden family package. Not new though, dating back to 2020 in its native China, but renovated in 2023 and so fresh to Australian eyes.

BYD Shark 6

It doesn’t get any more recent than the Shark 6, Australia’s very first PHEV. It should soon be joined by its body-on-frame SUV cousin Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5. Watch out, Prado!

Kia EV5

The first fruit of Kia’s collaboration with China’s Dongfeng Group under the Jiangsu Yueda Kia Motors joint venture, the Yancheng-built EV5 looks as modern and cutting-edge as a 2025 SUV can, especially at the interior.

Keeping pricing in check, the platform is a modified, EV-capable version of HMG’s N3 architecture serving Kia’s Sportage and many other models as well, not HMG’s advanced E-GMP architecture which been so transformative under the Hyundai Ioniq 5/6/9 as well as Kia’s EV6 and EV9.

Leap C10 engine

Another surprisingly inexpensive electric vehicle, the Leapmotor C10 is sized between a Toyota RAV4 and a Kluger, for less than $50,000. It uses an entirely new EV architecture and is a great example of China’s obsession with developing software-driven vehicles, which reduces development time and costs.

MG HS

MG’s popular RAV4 rival may seem like a clever redesign of the vintage 2018 original, but the HS II moves to an all-new platform shared with other SAIC models in China, namely the Roewe RX5.

Does Mazda know this name?

KGM SsangYong Torres

SsangYong’s large mid-size SUV is a restructured version of the slightly smaller Korando. Carryover technology, trendy look inside and out.

Audi Q4 e-tron

Sleek and contemporary as it is, Audi’s first electric vehicle in Australia based on a dedicated platform leverages VW’s aging MEB architecture, as found in the 2019 vintage VW ID.3.

Porsche Macan electric

They don’t get much newer or shinier than the Porsche Premium Platform Electric PPE all-EV architecture. Also look for it under the upcoming Audi Q6/A6 e-tron twins.

Toyota bZ4X/Subaru Solterra

Although tuned and marketed differently with some varying visual details, the bZ4X and Solterra are twins, using a dedicated EV platform based on Toyota’s new global architecture that emerged in the middle of the last decade. See also the Lexus RZ EV SUV.

GWM Tank 500/Alpha Cannon

New to Australians in 2024, the Tank 500 dates back to 2021 in China and is an SUV based on the GWM Cannon Alpha with roots dating back to 2019.

Renault Kangoo 3

Replacing a model that first saw the light of day in France in 2007, the third-generation Kangoo debuted in 2020 and uses a flexible architecture that underpins many Renault, Nissan, Dacia and others.

Yet if you drive the old Kangoo, this one will feel brand new.

Mitsubishi Triton

Mitsubishi spent more than half a decade developing the all-new platform under the latest Triton, which will also be modified for the next Nissan Navara from 2026.