current LDV eT60 and eDeliver 9 is an electric version of a diesel car. When the brand’s next-generation vehicles start arriving, the script will be flipped.
“The G10 replacement vehicle will be developed and ADR [complied] first as electricity, and then it will come as [internal-combustion model],” said LDV Australia general manager Dinesh Chinnappa Car Expert.
“The current pickup replacement was also developed as an electric first, and then it came as a second ICE vehicle. This is the new reality of LDV Australia; our parent company is now at that stage, or that phase, or the tipping point where it’s producing the first EV, and looking for the second ICE,” he said.
Exactly when the G10 and T60 replacements will arrive is not locked in – we know it will be in the next two or three years, but a more precise time has not been confirmed.
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eDeliver 9 -
eT60
That doesn’t mean LDV is abandoning diesel and petrol power. So far in 2023 it has sold 46 electric cars across the MIFA 9, eT60, and eDeliver 9 range, accounting for just 0.5 percent of its total deliveries according to VFACTS data.
Mr Chinnappa acknowledged the fact internal combustion remains LDV’s core business in Australia, given how limited the market for electric commercial vehicles will be in 2023.
“We at LDV Australia remain very focused on our core business today, which is our ICE range. I sell a handful of electricity [vehicles],” Mr. Chinnappa told Car Expert.
“We’re not going to flip a switch and be electrified overnight,” he said.
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LDV G10 internal combustion -
Internal combustion LDV T60 Max
The arrival of the new electric LDV does not necessarily mean the end of the existing T60 Max with its diesel powertrain, as the brand seeks to smooth the transition from internal combustion to electric power.
Right now, it’s using van launches and electric utes to lay the groundwork for what’s to come.
“What we’re trying to do right now is use our first-to-market advantage to do all the learning,” he said. Car Expert.
“Prepare the network, prepare ourselves … so when the explosion [of demand] happens, which I believe it will, we’ll be sitting there ready.”
The explosion can happen quickly too.
Mr Chinnappa pointed to New Zealand, where government support has helped accelerate sales of electric cars, as an example of what can happen locally when the Federal Government locks down emissions standards for our market.
“The New Zealand government made some announcements that almost said ‘if you buy an EV we’ll give you $8000, and if you buy an ICE vehicle we’ll punish you’,” Mr Chinnappa said.
“Things can change very, very, very quickly depending on government policies and how they are applied,” he said.