Air time! Delayed Deepal S07 software updates are now rolling out, as Chinese EV newcomer announces huge Aussie dealer expansion
Deepal has pressed the button on substantial over the air updates to improve the driving behaviour of its launch Australian model, the S07 electric mid-size SUV.
Promised for introduction as far back as April, the update didn’t start arriving in customer cars until June.
Deepal, one of a number of fresh arrivals from China in the Aussie market, has coincided the OTA update’s launch with fresh details about its expanding dealer network.
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Launched late last year with four dealerships, it has since expanded to nine and will have 14 sites by the end of July.
It will double its footprint again by the end of September, with yet more sites promised by the end of 2025.
Large regional centres such as Geelong in Victoria, the Queensland Sunshine and Gold Coasts and Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory will be included in the expanding network.
The expansion happens as Deepal prepares for the launch in Australia of the unusual E07 Multitruck ute/SUV EV and S05 compact electric SUV in coming months.
“As we gear up for the arrival of the E07 and S05, this expansion is about more than growth, it’s about delivering on our promise to make premium yet affordable electric vehicles accessible to all Australians, not just those in major cities,” said Cormac Cafolla, General Manager, Deepal Australia.
It was Cafolla who announced publicly at the Melbourne Motor Show in April that the OTA updates to the S07 would be kicking off imminently.
This followed on from a February announcement that retuning work had been going on in the background for two months.
Back then the focus was on re-engineering the safety software of the S07 to make its automated driver assists systems such as driver monitoring and adaptive cruise control less intrusive.
The revisions to the ADAS were made by engineers from Deepal’s parent, the Changan auto group. Deepal is distributed in Australia by Inchcape, which also handles Subaru, Peugeot and Foton.
Inchcape now says the delay in the introduction of the OTA update was because its scope was expanded and deepened.
As well as “improved interface responsiveness” , a Deepal Australia media statement says “smarter energy management” and “enhanced voice command functionality” has also been improved.
“We’ve listened closely to our customers and moved quickly to deliver a more intelligent, refined, and responsive EV driving experience,” said Cafolla.
“Feedback since the update has been resoundingly positive, reaffirming our belief that software should continually evolve, with every update delivering greater performance, precision and a more seamless, intuitive drive.”
When interviewed by EV Central in April, Caffola said Deepal would learn from the negative feedback generated by the S07’s tune and ensure it wasn’t replicated by incoming models.
“We’d be crazy not to learn our lesson and then just go and make the same [mistakes] again,” he said.
The five-door five-seat S07 is on-sale nationally from $49,990 drive-away. Just 99 have been sold so far in 2025, compared to 10,431 examples of the segement-leading Tesla Model Y.
The E07 is scheduled for launch before the end of September with pricing starting at $64,900.
Pricing is yet to be announced for the S05, although pre-orders have opened. It is also scheduled to go on-sale in coming months.
