Australia’s growing crop of affordable Chinese cars isn’t just putting pressure on established new car brands – it could increasingly give used-car buyers something to think about as well. That’s the view of Chinese newcomer Forthing, which believes the $36,990 driveaway starting price of its first Australian-spec SUV could tempt second-hand buyers into going with a new vehicle instead.

Forthing has launched locally with its new Taikon 5 medium SUV, which is offered with a choice of either range-extender hybrid or fully electric powertrains, priced from $36,990 and $38,990 driveaway respectively.

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Asked what sort of buyer Forthing expects to attract in Australia, national manager Sean Garrard acknowledged it’s too early to establish a precise customer profile, but said its aggressive pricing could attract shoppers who hadn’t initially intended to buy a new vehicle.

“Given the price point, it’s quite possible that these are people considering used cars [or] bargain hunters,” he told WhichCar by Wheels, pointing to Forthing’s lengthy warranty coverage as another factor that could persuade buyers to make the leap from used to new.

“You get a seven-year, 200,000-kilometre warranty. You get eight years on the battery, for the price of what some legacy brands have as used cars,” Garrard said.

It’s an interesting proposition at a time when Australia’s new car market is being reshaped significantly by increasingly affordable Chinese vehicles. A budget of around $35,000 to $40,000 usually gives SUV shoppers the choice of a smaller new model or a larger second-hand vehicle from an established manufacturer. But the arrival of brands such as Forthing is increasingly blurring that line, with buyers able to access a brand-new electrified medium SUV at a price point that overlaps with plenty of used alternatives.

Forthing’s range-extender hybrid is particularly unusual at $36,990 driveaway as it combines a sizeable 31.9kWh battery with a petrol engine that operates solely as a generator. Unlike a conventional plug-in hybrid, the combustion engine never directly powers the wheels, giving it EV-like driving characteristics without relying entirely on charging infrastructure.

Forthing claims up to 178km of electric-only driving range on the WLTP cycle, while its combined petrol and electric range stretches to 937km. Another $2000 buys the fully electric version, which uses a 64.4kWh battery and offers up to 427km of WLTP driving range.

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Of course, the equation isn’t quite as simple as new versus used. A second-hand SUV from Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai or Kia comes with an established reputation in Australia, a mature dealer and servicing network, known resale values and, depending on its age, potentially several years of remaining factory warranty.

Forthing, in contrast, is starting from scratch. While parent company Dongfeng is one of China’s largest automotive groups, the Forthing name has virtually no history with Australian consumers, and as such, its future resale values are an unknown.

The company is attempting to offset some of that uncertainty with its ownership package, including a seven-year/200,000km warranty and while it currently has 20 active Australian dealers, it plans plans to increase that number to 35 before the end of 2026.