Electric utes and vans off to a slow start but theyre about to get a boost in Australia

The first 100 electric utes and vans have been reported as sold so far this year – and more affordable models are just around the corner.

More than 100 electric utes and vans have been sold so far this year in Australia – despite high prices and limited driving range – as business fleets line up to put the new technology to the test.

While electric cars and SUVs accounted for 8.8 per cent of all motor vehicles sold in Australia last month – the highest proportion to date – bringing battery power to delivery vehicles and workhorse utes is a greater technical challenge, which is why, for now, they only represent a fraction of the market.

Electric motors have the power to haul heavy loads – and in some cases electric utes and vans are faster than their diesel counterparts – however the already-limited driving range of the heavy vehicles is cut in half at full cargo capacity.

And fitting bigger batteries adds more weight, which can be a case of two steps forward and one step back.

However, despite these hurdles, fleets and government agencies are already starting to experiment with electric delivery vehicles for shorter routes rather than long haul runs.

Chinese car-maker LDV is leading the electric ute and van race, accounting for more than half of the battery-powered commercial vehicles delivered in Australia so far this year.

According to data released this week by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, there were 41 examples of the LDV eT60 ute and 11 examples of the LDV eDeliver 9 van reported as sold in the first six months of this year – despite each having price tags close to or in excess of $100,000.

The similarly-priced Ford E-Transit van (pictured above) also made some headway with 25 examples reported as sold, ahead of 21 Mercedes-Benz eVito electric vans (plus 7 people-movers), and 11 Renault Kangoo electric vans (run-out stock of the old model ahead of a new model soon).

The boss of LDV Australia, Dinesh Chinnappa, said “blue chip companies and government fleets” were among those at the head of the queue, with “more enquiries coming in every day.”

The executive said large corporate businesses were “ready and willing” to better understand how electric utes and vans could fit into their fleet mix.

“A lot of vans travel set routes and come back to base each night where they can be recharged, and there’s also a lot of interest from firms looking for electric vehicles for ‘last mile’ deliveries, when they’re delivering goods closest to the customer,” Mr Chinnappa told Drive.

The LDV eDeliver 9 has the biggest battery pack in the electric van class – 88.55kWh versus the 68kWh capacity in the Ford eTransit – though it is limited to a top speed of 90km/h which limits its suitability on freeway hops.

In comparison, the Ford E-Transit can travel at the maximum 110km/h freeway limit in Australia – and up to 134km/h on speed-unlimited autobahns in Germany – and has brisker acceleration.

Despite their different battery capacities, both electric vans have a similar real-world driving range of about 250km to 270km unladen because the Ford technology is more efficient.

This compares to driving range of 250km to 450km on most electric cars sold in Australia (the distance varies according to driving conditions, battery capacity and energy efficiency).

Meanwhile, demand for the LDV eT60 ute – the biggest-selling electric commercial vehicle in Australia to date – has exceeded expectations, accounting for more than 40 per cent of demand for battery-powered work vehicles so far this year.

And next week, French car-maker Peugeot is poised to introduce in Australia a smaller, cheaper electric city van called the e-Partner (pictured above) priced about $60,000 before on-road costs.

While it is 56 per cent dearer than the equivalent petrol model, it will be tied with the Renault Kangoo as the smallest electric van on sale in Australia, but it also has a driving range of 245km on a single charge (a claim yet to be tested locally).

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