Forthing's Next Australian Model Is Reported to Be an Electric and Plug-In Hybrid People Mover: What Has Been Confirmed, and What Has Not

Forthing only started selling cars in Australia this year, and it already has a second model lined up. At the local launch of its mid-size SUV, Forthing Australia's national manager Shaun Garrard told media the next model coming here "will be a people mover that will bring the choice of pure electric and plug-in hybrid power to the segment at attainable price points", as quoted by CarExpert. A prototype then went on the stand at the Everything Electric show at Sydney Showground from 18 to 20 September.

That is genuinely interesting for families, because an affordable electrified people mover is a gap in the Australian market right now. It is also, for the moment, most of what is actually known. Forthing Australia's website still lists only its two SUV powertrains, has no news section and makes no mention of a people mover, so almost everything beyond Mr Garrard's quote comes from motoring outlets rather than from Forthing. This piece sorts what has been said from what has only been reported, and works out what the car would need to cost to change anything for a family buyer.

What Forthing Has Said

Separately written reports from Australian outlets, including CarExpert, CarsGuide, WhichCar and carsales, describe the same plan from Forthing Australia, with CarExpert and WhichCar quoting Mr Garrard directly. The points that line up across them are these:

• The people mover is the next Forthing model for Australia.
• It will offer a pure electric and a petrol-assisted electrified version. CarExpert and WhichCar say "plug-in hybrid"; CarsGuide describes the pair as EV and REEV, the same range-extender label Forthing uses on its SUV. Which one it really is matters, and we come back to it below.
• Forthing wants it priced at the affordable end of the segment. Mr Garrard was quoted saying he could not think of any affordable plug-in hybrid or pure-electric MPVs with eight or seven seats that Australians can buy.
• After it, Forthing plans a larger SUV in 2028 and at least one more model it would not describe.

Everything else, including the name, the size, the seat count, the battery and the price, is either reported from the show car and the Chinese-market model, or not known at all.

What Has Only Been Reported

The name. CarExpert reported the prototype on the Everything Electric stand as the Forthing Tk7, a left-hand-drive plug-in hybrid, and said the electric version was launched in China as the Xinghai V6. CarsGuide said it was unclear what Forthing would call the car here. Forthing's SUV is a useful warning on names: it was announced for Australia as the Taikon 5, and Forthing Australia's website now calls it simply the Electric and the Range Extender Hybrid, after Porsche objected to the Taikon name in Australia and New Zealand, as reported. The badge on the Australian people mover may not be the one on the show car.

The size. CarExpert reported the show car at 4,838mm long, 1,898mm wide and 1,747mm tall, with a 2,060kg kerb weight. If those figures carry over, this is a compact people mover. We list the Kia Carnival at 5,155mm long, so the Forthing would be over 300mm shorter, and we list Forthing's own SUV at 4,600mm. Of the people movers on sale in our directory with a length on record, only the short-wheelbase Volkswagen ID. Buzz, at 4,712mm on our figures, is shorter than the reported Forthing. That is good news for parking and less good news for boot space behind the third row, and nobody has published a boot figure yet.

The seats. WhichCar reported that the local seating configuration is yet to be locked in. The Chinese-market car has been reported as a six-seater. So a buyer who needs seven or eight belts should not assume either yet.

The timing. The reported plan is at least three new models over the next 18 months, people mover first. CarsGuide's show preview said the electric people mover would launch in 2027, and carsales reported on 1 October that Forthing has confirmed it for the first half of 2027. Forthing has not published a date on its own website.

The hardware. CarExpert reported the Chinese-market electric version with a 135kW front motor and a choice of 45.5kWh or 60.5kWh LFP batteries, quoted at 400km and 510km on China's CLTC test. Those are overseas figures on a test cycle that runs well ahead of the WLTP numbers used in Australia, and Forthing has not said which battery, if either, Australia gets. We have left them out of any comparison for that reason. The plug-in hybrid shown in Sydney has not had its powertrain detailed at all.

What Forthing Charges Today

There is no people mover price, so the only honest anchor is what Forthing charges for the car it already sells. Forthing Australia prints these as driveaway prices at participating dealers, for new stock vehicles only with no added options, while stock lasts. Premium paint is an extra $600 including GST.

A people mover is a bigger, heavier vehicle than a mid-size SUV, so it would be a surprise if it matched these numbers. CarExpert has speculated it could land within striking distance of the SUV's high-$30,000 starting price. That is a publisher's expectation, not a Forthing figure, and we would not budget on it.

The Gap It Is Aiming At

Mr Garrard's pitch is that the electrified people movers arriving from other Chinese brands have been expensive. Our own directory backs up the general shape of that. These are family movers we list, grouped by powertrain, with prices quoted only where our listing's price has been verified:

The two plug-in hybrids are in our directory but we have not finished checking their prices against the manufacturers, so we have not quoted them here; the listings show the figures we currently hold, and our BYD M9 price story covers that one in detail. Across every plug-in hybrid and electric people mover we list on sale, none carries a listed price under $70,000 at the time of writing.

So the real target is not the MIFA 9 or the ID. Buzz. It is the Kia Carnival Hybrid, the obvious choice for a family paying its own money for a people mover. A Forthing people mover would matter if it landed at or under Carnival Hybrid money with a plug. It would matter a lot if the electric version landed well under it. Anywhere above that, the case gets thin quickly against an established nameplate with a much larger dealer network.

Plug-In Hybrid or Range Extender? It Is Not a Small Detail

The reports use different words for the petrol-assisted version. Mr Garrard was quoted saying "plug-in hybrid", and CarsGuide wrote REEV. That may be less of a contradiction than it looks: Forthing Australia sells its SUV as the Range Extender Hybrid and, on the same page, describes it as "a plug-in hybrid" that runs on battery for daily driving before the engine takes over automatically when the battery runs low. So when Forthing says plug-in hybrid, it may well mean a range extender like the SUV, which is quoted at up to 170km of WLTP electric range from a 31.94kWh battery.

The distinction is still worth asking about at the dealer. In a series range extender, the petrol engine mainly makes electricity and the electric motor does the driving; in a conventional plug-in hybrid, the engine can also drive the wheels directly, which usually helps on long highway runs and when towing. Forthing has not said which layout the people mover uses, and its SUV page does not spell it out either.

For a family, the practical questions are the same either way. How far will it go on a charge with a full load? What does it use on petrol once the battery is flat? How quickly does it charge? Can it tow a camper? Forthing has published none of that for the people mover. When it does, our range estimator will give a more realistic picture than the headline figure, and the TowingSorted planner will show whether the towing and payload numbers work together.

The Family Movers You Can Buy Now, Side by Side

We do not hold a row for the Forthing people mover, and it is not on sale, so it is not in the comparison below. What is in it are three family movers on sale today and Forthing's two SUV powertrains, so you can see the brand's pricing next to the cars it wants to undercut.

Tax, Warranty and Safety

FBT on a novated lease. As general information for the 2026-27 financial year, this is where the choice of powertrain could matter most. A battery-electric car priced under the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold, $91,661 in 2026-27, can qualify for the electric car fringe benefits tax exemption. Plug-in hybrids lost the exemption for cars first held on or after 1 April 2025, and a car with a petrol engine on board does not become an electric car by being called a range extender. The government has also announced a phase-down of the electric car exemption from 1 April 2027, under which the full exemption would be limited to cars at or under $75,000. With the people mover reported for 2027, the electric version's price and your lease start date will decide the treatment. Talk to your lease provider or accountant before you plan around it.

Luxury car tax. The 2026-27 thresholds are $80,809, and $91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles. If Forthing prices anywhere near its stated affordable target, LCT will not come into it.

Warranty. Forthing Australia describes a 7-year or 200,000km vehicle warranty as standard on every Forthing, with an 8-year or 200,000km battery warranty and up to five years of roadside assistance when serviced with Forthing. That is what applies to its current range. Forthing has not published the people mover's terms, so confirm them when it arrives.

ANCAP. We hold no ANCAP rating for the people mover, and none for Forthing's current SUV. For a car that will carry children, that is the one gap we would most want filled before buying.

What Forthing Has Not Told Us Yet

• Price, for either powertrain.
• The Australian name, and whether it is the car shown in Sydney.
• Seat count and layout, including whether there is a seven or eight-seat version.
• Battery sizes, WLTP range and charging speeds for the Australian cars.
• How the petrol version works: plug-in hybrid or range extender.
• Towing, payload and boot space, which decide whether it carries a family and its gear.
• A launch date, and an ANCAP result.

Who Should Wait, and Who Should Not

Worth waiting for if you want a plug-in people mover, your budget sits closer to Carnival money than MIFA 9 money, and your current car will comfortably last into 2027. It is also worth watching if you are planning a novated lease on an electric car, because a genuinely affordable electric seven-seater would be a rare thing.

Not worth waiting for if you need a people mover in the next few months, need a confirmed seven or eight seats, tow a van, or want an ANCAP rating in hand before you sign. The Carnival Hybrid and Staria Hybrid are known quantities today, and Forthing is a brand with one model and a young dealer network.

We will add the Forthing people mover to the CarSorted directory as soon as Forthing Australia publishes its name and specifications, and cover the price when it lands.