The next electric ute from Maxus – as LDV is known elsewhere – has been revealed as a bigger, boxier, and more powerful load-hauler.
Lai Times and X (formerly Twitter) user Tycho de Feijter have published details from a filing with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) that lists not only the new Maxus Star X EV, but also its diesel counterpart.
The new-generation ute will reportedly go on sale in China during the fourth quarter of 2024. CarExpert understands a new electric ute won’t arrive in local LDV showrooms until the first quarter of 2025.
The Star X EV closely resembles last year’s Maxus GST concept, though it goes without a 746kW quad-motor all-wheel drive powertrain and semi-solid state battery… at least for now.
It will reportedly feature a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain instead of a single-motor rear-wheel drive set-up like the current eT60.
The front electric motor produces 138kW of power, while the rear motor produces 216kW.
The Star X EV uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery of unspecified capacity, instead of a lithium-ion unit like the eT60.
It’s unclear how much range the Star X EV has. The eT60 has 330km on the WLTP cycle.
Below are some key specifications noted in the MIIT filing, and how they compare with the eT60.
| Maxus Star X EV | LDV eT60 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive type | Dual-motor AWD | Single-motor RWD |
| Power | 138kW + 216kW | 130kW |
| Length | 5500mm | 5365mm |
| Width | 2005mm | 1900mm (mirrors folded) |
| Height | 1860mm | 1809mm |
| Wheelbase | 3300mm | 3155mm |
| Tub length | 1561mm | 1525mm (top of tub) |
Mr de Feijter reports a payload figure of just 320kg, well down on the 1000kg of the eT60. Lai Times claims total trailer mass for the EV, however, is “about 3.5 tonnes”.
The combustion-powered Star X features a 165kW 2.5-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, and a considerably higher payload figure of 940kg.
The current T60 Max Plus has a 160kW bi-turbo diesel 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine.
LDV was the first manufacturer to offer an electric ute in Australia, and the eT60 still has no competition.
While American brands like Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Rivian and Tesla all offer electric utes in the US market, none have made their way here yet.
LDV eT60
The eT60 is part of a wide range of EVs under the LDV banner, which also includes the eDeliver 7 and eDeliver 9 vans and the MIFA 9 people mover.
However, the electric ute has proved a slow seller, not helped by a price tag more than $50,000 higher than the base T60.
LDV sold just 8 examples in the first half of this year against 3391 diesel-powered T60s, making it one of the lowest-volume EVs on the Australian market despite the ute segment being among our country’s largest.
MORE: Everything LDV
