Electric utes are all the buzz at the moment in Australia and across the world. Now, Roev – an electric conversion start-up launched by two former senior Atlassian executives – has released its pricing offers to electrify existing Australian ute fleets.
Roev will focus its initial electric ute conversions on the two best selling ute models in the Australian market – the Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger of all body types. Initial conversion offerings for fleets will be for model years 2016 – 2022.
The company wants to bridge a major gap in the market – the desire by major fleet owners to cut emissions and go electric, and the lack of supply of new EV models, which are being rolled out in the US at the moment but could take years to reach Australia.
Roev has committed to converting 1,000 utes in the first 12 months of the program, and will open orders from interested fleet managers from December this year.
Prices of the ute conversion will start at $47,990 for a 4×2 and will stretch to $57,990 for some older 4×4 models. These prices for fleets exclude GST.
“There is huge demand for electric utes in Australia, particularly among large fleets, we are actively listening to customers to ensure that our product solutions meet their operational needs,” Roev CEO,Noah Wasmer says.
Australian fleets with Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux models will be able to have Roev convert these vehicles from ICE to an EV powertrain. The converted utes will be offered in two versions:
- Standard Pack with 240 km of range
- Extended Pack with 360 km of range
Along with the ranges, the converted utes will also enable vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities. The company also has plans to add vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-depot and vehicle-to-grid capabilities in the coming years.
Utes made as far back as 2016 can be converted which can help with extending the life of the existing vehicles and reduce upgrade frequency in fleets.
“We heard from a lot of fleets the desire to convert slightly older vehicles to extend the life of their existing assets,” Wasmer says. “With a conversion, you’re not only adding an electric vehicle to your fleet, but you’re also taking a diesel vehicle off the road and preventing many years of future tailpipe C02 emissions.”
Post the initial rollout, Roev has plans to roll their EV conversion drive system to more models and would like to work more closely with vehicle OEMs too.
This seems like a good first step to help Australian fleets in electrifying thousands of utes and has the potential to form a pivotal part in our electrified transport future.
Roev EV Fleet Program – Product Information
Compatible vehicles:
- Toyota Hilux or Ford Ranger
- 4×2 or 4×4, all body styles
- Model Year 2016 – 2022
Proposed conversion specifications:
- 100% plug-in electric
- Standard battery pack: 64 kWh – range up to 240 km
- Extended battery pack: 96 kWh – range up to 360 km
- Integration with vehicle safety systems (engineering safety certified)
- V2L power points for powering multiple tools on site (240v, 20A)
- 11kW onboard AC charger (type 2)
- 80kW CCS DC fast charging
Proposed pricing per conversion (ex. GST):
| Base Vehicle | Standard Range | Extended Range |
| 4×2 MY20-22 | $47,990 | $53,990 |
| 4×2 MY16-19 | $48,990 | $54,990 |
| 4×4 MY20-22 | $50,990 | $56,990 |
| 4×4 MY16-19 | $51,990 | $57,990 |
You can hear an interview with Roev’s Wasmer in a recent episode of The Driven podcast here.
See also: The bold plan to create the great Australian electric ute
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.