More electric utes are on the way, but how soon?

If there’s one vehicle segment that is sorely in need of electrification in Australia, it is utes.

Known as pickups in the US, they are the among the most popular vehicle type – along with SUVs – bought by Australian drivers. They are also some of the most polluting, in terms of both carbon emissions as well as noxious particulates – thanks largely to Australia’s failure to update fuel standards.

As a result, global carmakers get to import some of the dirtiest utes on the planet into Australia. And Australians buy them by the boatload.

But there are signs that electric utes are on the way. The only question is, how soon will they be built? And more importantly, how soon will they come to Australia?

The latest news is that Volkswagen is looking at expanding its Chattanooga operations in US to make a new all-electric utility truck and the new ID.Buzz electric Kombi, according to sources who spoke to Reuters.

This is where VW makes the Atlas SUV among other models. A utility concept of the Atlas SUV, called the Tanoak, was received well after it was teased in 2018.

But it’s unlikely this will form the basis of a US-made electric pickup. Although well-received, the Atlas-based ute was dismissed after VP for product marketing and strategy, Hein Schafer, admitted it would not compete well against ladder-frame rivals.

But another report has emerged that Ford, which is investing $US5.6 billion into an EV-focussed “Blue Oval City” in Tennessee, is already working on a second electric pickup to join the F-150 Lightning.

At a media event to celebrate the start of production of the F-150 Lightning on Tuesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that, “We’re already pushing dirt down in Blue Oval City in Tennessee for another electric pickup truck that’s different than this one.”

Speculation that this could be an all-electric Ranger is in line with comments made by Lars Krause, Volkswagen’s board member for commercial vehicles during a media presentation this week.

And with the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok underpinned with the same structural hardpoints as the Ford Ranger, it could be the latest reports regarding Volkswagen’s factory expansion refer to an all-electric Amarok.

“We’re looking at a pure electric version,” said Krause, according to Autocar. “It is still early, but it is something we are considering within the lifecycle.”

Krause also said he thinks the new chassis developed for the Ranger and Amarok under the Ford/Volkswagen collaboration will be suitable for an electric drivetrain. “We think it’s possible. Obviously, we’d need to modify certain elements,” he said.

Reports by Drive that Australian engineers would be involved in the development of an electric version of the Ford Ranger, however, would not be confirmed by Ford’s Australian representatives.

But, a spokesperson said the carmaker would “confirm there will be an electrified Ranger in the future.”

All of this is very interesting, but unfortunately doesn’t bring us any closer to knowing when an all-electric ute will see its way to Australia.

While Tesla has taken plenty of refundable deposits for its Cybertruck, production delays mean it will likely not arrive until 2024 at the earliest.

Likewise, though two Rivian electric utes arrived on local roads in August 2021, it’s thought the rugged R1T will not get here for customers until 2024 at the earliest.

And though the F-150 will now come to Australia under a remanufacturing agreement with RMA Australia, Ford has said that there is no date set yet for a local Lightning electric ute launch.