LDV this week announced Australia’s first electric ute, the China-made eT60, is due to arrive from November this year.
While there’s a growing range of electric utes available in markets like China and the US, Australia has thus far missed out on these.
LDV Australia has kept its powder dry on Australian-market specs and prices, however we can get some pretty clear ideas by looking across the Tasman Sea.
LDV already sells the eT60 in the New Zealand market, where it qualifies for government rebates of up to $8625 (A$7600).
The eT60 in that market, which we are going to go out on a limb and say lines up with ours, uses a big 88.5kWh battery enabling a claimed, WLTP-rated driving range as high as 330km.
LDV’s Australian importer confirmed this battery would be used in local versions, adding that charging from 5-100 per cent using an 11kW AC charger will take about nine hours, while the DC fast-charging capability enables a charge from 20 to 80 per cent in around 45 minutes.
The battery powers a motor with 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque, and the eT60 is only available in 4×2 (rear-wheel drive) guise. It’s also rated to tow up to 1500kg, which is half what the 160kW and 500Nm diesel is rated to haul.
The NZ model’s payload is listed as 750kg, given kerb weight is 2300kg and GVM is 3050kg.
Now, the vital issue of price. In NZ it sells for $79,990 drive-away (A$70,500), which is about 60 per cent more than the flagship T60 Bi-Turbo diesel ($50,588 plus on-road costs in NZ dollars).
If we apply this markup over the price of the flagship T60 diesel in Australia, which costs $43,674 drive-away, we get an indicative Australian price of the eT60 of about $70,000 here.
Again, this is not official local pricing, rather it’s speculative.
Meanwhile, LDV isn’t stopping at the eT60, confirming plans to also sell the eDeliver 9 electric van and Mifa 9 electric people-mover.
“Every major OEM is committed to developing electric vehicles, but what is less spoken about is the growing influence of China’s EV market on the rest of the world – and we in Australia are now benefiting from that influence with the arrival of eT60, eDeliver 9 and Mifa 9,” said LDV Australia general manager Dinesh Chinnappa this week.
“In the first half of 2022, 2.4 million EVs were delivered to customers in China, more than double the total annual new car market in Australia. EVs now account for 26 per cent of all car sales in China, and 57 per cent of global EV sales. China is moving ahead in electrifying its transport industry and it’s bringing the rest of the world – including Australia – with it.”
MORE: LDV Australia introducing electric ute, van and people mover in November
