LDV to launch Australia’s first EV ute next month as Chinese giant moves in on lucrative market gap

Australia is getting its first electric ute as Chinese giant SAIC moves in to plug the lucrative hole in the domestic market, while a new report suggests the price point of a light commercial EV will be comparable to a petrol-powered one by next year.

LDV, which is SAIC-owned, has confirmed it will introduce the eT60 all-electric ute to the Australian market in November along with eDeliver 9 large van and the Mifa 9 people mover — both also electric.

The price point of LDV’s much-anticipated EV ute is yet to be confirmed. Pundits are predicting the local price tag will be similar to New Zealand’s, which goes for NZ$79,990 ($70,799) — that’s around $20,000 more than the internal combustion engine equivalent, the T60.

In terms of specs: the eT60 has a 4×2 duel cab format, with a 3155mm wheelbase with a 1.2-tonne front axle load and a 2.1-tonne rear axle load.

As to whether it’ll tow your boat, as former prime minister Scott Morrison once scoffed at, a full 5365mm length holds a 1485mm long rear tray with a gross trailer weight of 4.05 tonnes (a 750kg payload).

It’ll be powered by 88.5kWh battery and rear-axle 130kW motor that delivers a max torque of 310Nm, with a 20-80% charge in 45 minutes using a DC charger or 5-100% in nine hours using an 11kW AC charger.

General manager for LDV Australia Dinesh Chinnappa told The Driven the uptake of electric vehicles was already massively disrupting the Chinese market, and the same would happen here too.

“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,” Chinnappa said.

“EVs now account for 26% of all car sales in China, [making up] 57% of all 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.”

Chinnappa said China was quickly establishing itself as one of the global leaders in the electric car space, and “and we in Australia are now benefiting from that influence with the arrival of eT60, eDeliver 9 and Mifa 9”.

Most of Australia’s top-selling utes, like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado, and Mazda BT-50, are manufactured in Thailand.

November’s launch comes just weeks after Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Small Business Sussan Ley erroneously told Sky News that “no one in the world is making an electric ute”, continuing that “even if they were, it would be unaffordable”.

A spokesperson told SmartCompany that Ley, who is also the Shadow Minister for Industry, Skills and Trade, actually meant to say “EV utes are not yet commercially available in Australia”.

Meanwhile, a new report forecasted that light commercial EVs will sell for a price point comparable to internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents by next year (based on the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the vehicle) and the cost of an EV will tumble over time.

The report, from the management consultancy Boston Consulting Group, also found electric utes and vans would make up over half of all light commercial vehicle sales in Australia by 2030.

“The global auto market is undergoing its most significant revolution in decades,” Chinnappa said.

And LDV is not the only one cashing in. Chinese giant Geely has been searching for a distribution partner in Australia to launch a plug-in hybrid and EV line in 2023-24, according to industry chatter, with an electric ute, SUV and passenger model in its sights.

It’s not the first Australian venture for the Chinese automotive brand — in 2011 the line was distributed by Western Australian car dealer John Hughes until the partnership finished in 2014.