Nearly 20k electric utes promised for Australia

Arizona-based start-up Atlis Motor Vehicles says it has signed an agreement with Australian Manufactured Vehicles (AusMV) to sell more than 19,000 XT pickups (utes) in Australia.

Under the collaboration agreement, AusMV will buy the Atlis XT electric utes through 2025 and complete right-hand drive production in Australia for sale in the Oceania and Southeast Asia market (including New Zealand) under the Atlis brand.

The XT prototype will be revealed this year and production is due to start in 2022.

AusMV will provide expertise in compliance and certification, as well as support in service and charging infrastructure for the Australian market, Atlis says.

AT is developing a fully electric vehicle platform, proprietary battery cells and packs, and the necessary charging infrastructure to recharge an 804km range battery in under 15 minutes.

“According to the Climate Council, Australia’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2035 equates to the need for 75% of new vehicle sales to be electric,” Atlis founder and chief executive Mark Hanchett says.

“Many traditional automakers have overlooked Australia when launching new EVs for a variety of reasons, but we see things differently.

“Our long-range, fast-charging electric work trucks are ideal for this market,” Hanchett adds.

“We don’t need legislative imperatives and other incentives to ship vehicles to Australia and AusMV knows how to get them into owners’ hands.”

Atlis has an innovative product and a solid business plan that covers not only the vehicle production, but also battery manufacturing and charging technology that is suited to Australia’s conditions,” AusMV and AusEV managing director Eddie Kocwa says.

“Our confidence in the Atlis team is so great that we have invested in the company.”

The Atlis XT ute is reported to have the option of single or dual motors, a maximum 250kW battery, 447kW maximum peak power, 16,000Nm torque and can tow 15-tonne trailers.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed.

AusMV, part of the Boss Capital Group, is an Australian owned and operated vehicle importer and distributor involved in remanufacturing left-hand drive vehicles for 10 years and has a future business strategy that firmly embraces EVs – specifically large and heavy-duty pickups – and through AusEV will distribute a range of EVs in Australia through its wholly owned network.