In Australia, if we may briefly generalize, it seems that people movers (also known as MPVs or minivans) have long been reserved for three types of buyers: those with particularly large families; Hotels requiring shuttles; and rental fleets.
Try to convince a typical Australian to buy one of these boxy vehicles instead of a trendier SUV and you’ll often be met with a look of disgust on their face, no matter how much they enjoyed the Kia Carnival they rented on their recent interstate holiday…
People movers never reached the dizzying sales heights here as they did in markets like Europe and the US, where their popularity has waned as SUV demand continues to rise.
In Australia, long-standing brands such as the Toyota Tarago and Honda Odyssey have disappeared, while the Kia Carnival has consolidated its share of the people mover market, which now stands at just over 73 per cent. However, this is not a very large segment and even mid-size cars outperform sales figures.
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But if you travel to China and Japan, you will see movers everywhere. And they’re not just kid-haulers designed to get dirty.
Countless brands are offering increasingly spacious four-seater variants with interior dividers, huge digital screens, refrigerators and seats that can heat, cool and massage you. A little different than dad’s old Ford Spectron.
While there are luxury commuter vans from Nissan and Toyota in Japan, they aren’t here yet, at least officially – Toyota even discontinued its Granvia commuter van locally earlier this year.
The luxury Lexus LM, due here in 2024, will fly the Japanese flag alone in the Australian people mover segment.
When it comes to Chinese brands, it’s a completely different story.
LDV launched the electric MIFA 9 in 2023 with a base price of over $100,000. Then, earlier this year, Zeekr began shipping its electric model 009, priced at $135,900 before it hit the streets.
Neither set the sales charts on fire.
LDV delivered just 12 examples of the MIFA 9, technically an electric version of its cheaper MIFA people mover, in 2023, followed by 20 in 2024 and just three this year.
Zeekr has delivered a more impressive 119 examples of the 009 this year, but that’s still fewer than Kia will deliver of its Carnival in a given week.
Of course, the 009 breathes refined air, with a base price of over $100,000 – even after announcing cheaper base trim last month – and an interior that makes the Carnival’s admittedly beautiful cabin look rather dull.
However, despite their low sales volume, these two Chinese people movers seem to have encouraged other Chinese brands to bring their own expensive people movers here.
As the most luxuriously appointed members of their respective brand lineups, these people movers can arguably create a “halo effect.” However, some of these brands seriously claim that there is strong demand for these products and that they can be a sales driver.
“Yes, in Australia there are only a few brands that offer an MPV. This is a very similar situation in China maybe ten years ago,” said Cheney Liang, deputy general manager of GAC Australia Daily Sparkz in November.
“Before the M8 (launched in China), only the (Honda) Odyssey was the most popular model. But after the M8 comes out, it actually expands the market, the market becomes bigger than before.”
“I think after the M8 comes to the Australian market there will be some changes in customers because at this point in the carnival… Most customers are from an Asian background but there has already been a bit of a change. Australians are starting to buy (people movers).”
His brand’s M8 has just gone on sale here, making it the only plug-in hybrid people mover on the Australian market. Priced at $76,590 (excluding on-road costs), the Luxury trim includes requisite executive transport features such as heated, ventilated and massaging second-row captain’s chairs with power legrests.
With the X9, Xpeng probably has the most interesting people mover of all, which is scheduled to appear here in 2026.
Its local distributor, TrueEV, claims it has seen enough interest in the vehicle to make a case to Xpeng headquarters in China that the X9 can be successfully sold here.
“We have taken a significant number of pre-orders and deposits for the X9. This demand is all but proven,” said Jason Clarke, CEO of TrueEV Daily Sparkzthis month.
Pricing and specifications are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2026, before customer deliveries begin from the second quarter.
Offered in China with either electric drive (EV) or extended range electric drive (EREV), the
Denza seems a little less enthusiastic about his potential new people-mover.
The D9 received road vehicle type approval in Australia this month, but the new (in Australia) brand has yet to officially confirm it for our market.
“We could have started with the D9, the people mover that they use in Indonesia, Malaysia and other markets, but we wanted to go for the large segment,” said Denza Australia chief operating officer Mark Harland Daily Sparkzearlier this month. Instead, his brand is launching with two large off-road SUVs.
“We are still evaluating if and when to launch this because it is not a big segment, especially in the luxury segment.
“We want to build the network, establish our presence with the B5 and B8 before we look at the D9, and the reason we did the (vehicle type approval) for the D9 is because it is a car that is available to us as a right-hand drive car and it is doing well in Malaysia and Indonesia and other right-hand drive markets.”
In short, Denza Australia may be importing it because it’s available, and it doesn’t appear to be a mode the local branch would have otherwise championed.
In Australia it is registered as an electric vehicle, but in China a plug-in hybrid drive is offered. Also available in China, although only with PHEV power, is a palatial Pioneer Edition without a third row of seats and a huge partition between the first and second rows of seats, equipped with an integrated 32-inch screen.
So far only Lexus offers such an interior in Australia.
But wait, there’s more!
GWM has confirmed that it will introduce the fifth of its Chinese market brands here, the premium brand Wey, whose vehicles – such as GWM, Haval, Tank and Ora – will be sold under the GWM banner.
Daily Sparkz expects the Wey G9 – a large all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid people mover – to make its way into Australian showrooms.
Of the other Chinese brands in Australia, not all of them have a big people mover in other markets.
Geely has the 5.3m Galaxy L380 EV with an Airbus A380-inspired design and optional air suspension; There is also an EREV version, the Geely Galaxy V900.
MG sells a redesigned LDV MIFA 9 in some markets, while a slightly smaller people mover like the MG Maxus 7 is also in use in Thailand. BYD also offers the Xia, which is closely related to the Denza D9; In some markets it is sold as the BYD M9.
Chery, Deepal, Omoda Jaecoo and Leapmotor don’t currently have people movers, but there are several other Chinese brands that aren’t in Australia yet. So it’s possible that as more Chinese brands announce Australian plans, some will throw their hat into the people mover ring.
Even without it, many players will be struggling to make close to 15,000 annual sales.
