The AA attended LDV’s EV launch day this week and while we were expecting to see an enticing new LDV BEV van range, LDV certainly took us by surprise, unveiling New Zealand’s first purely electric ute.
Jaws dropped as the new EV T60, which is an electric version of the current T60 ute, was unveiled in dramatic style. While the demonstration model was left hand drive, it gave us a good taste of things to come with the EV T60. While all specs and pricing is yet to be revealed here is a rundown of what we know…
It gets a single electric motor mounted on the rear axle producing 130kW with 310Nm of torque. This motor is paired to an 88kWh battery and has a range of 325km. It is capable of both AC and DC fast charging and will come with a portable home charging cable. It will have a towing capacity of 1500kg; however, max towing weight reduces range by 50 per cent.
It will initially only be available in the 2WD configuration. And while the price has not yet been confirmed it will be eligible for a $8,625 clean car rebate. LDV has also opened orders online, and will take a $1,000 deposit to secure an electric ute.
The motor assembly is mounted directly on the rear axle and the battery is quite easy to identify as per the picture.
The new EV T60 is packed with safety features including a reversing camera, parking sensors, AEB, adaptive cruise control, ABS, EBD, driver and passenger airbags, seatbelt reminder, 3-Point belts all positions and 4-wheel disc brakes – to list a few.
LDV have confirmed that the production of right-hand drive models is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of this year, and New Zealand will be amongst the first to receive the right-hand drive EV T60 with the expected launch date in quarter four of 2022. You can pre order yours here with a refundable $1000 deposit and become one of the first BEV ute owner in New Zealand.
The EV T60 was comfortable to drive. The acceleration was not quite as rambunctious as some EVs - it felt more leisurely; however, we imagine that it’s not really designed to be a race car, it’s more about conservation and economy.
With a market of nearly 40,000 double cab utes sold last year, the LDV EV T60 is now the only electric option out there – for now.