Itās no secret that Australian drivers are obsessed with utes and, with the absence of many electric options, they are not often seen at fast charging stations ā unless they are parked there blocking access ā as seen earlier this year in Melbourne when a Ford Ranger blocked three bays at one Tesla supercharger site.
Finally, though, one ute has been spotted charging at a Tesla supercharger in Victoria which was shared by an EV enthusiast and reader of The Driven, Rahul Prasad, on X.
An LDV eT60 electric ute was seen charging there when Prasad arrived at the charger on his way back from a road trip.Ā
@LudicrousFeed @Rizflip @TeslaGong LDV T60 ute charging at Tesla supercharger Moe. ā”ļøš pic.twitter.com/5wHfTQnIOv
ā å°ŗååć©ć„ å©å°ŗåäøåįŖ ššššā½ļøšš¾āāļøšš (@RahulPrasad74) September 15, 2023
The grey ute, which has the charge port on the left-hand side ā similar to Tesla EVs ā appeared to have no issue getting the shorter Tesla charging cable to the port.Ā
LDV ā and other electric vehicles can now charge at nearly half of Tesla supercharger sites across Australia after the company opened up access to non-Tesla vehicles. This will be welcomed by many EV users, particularly as Tesla sites are normally more reliable, and more charging bays.
āThis is the WAYā, one reader observed of the LDV sightings. Others highlighted how rare this sighting is: āRare as henās teeth!ā.Ā
There are not many T60 electric utes on Australia roads, with data from FCAI suggesting just 60 sales so far in 2023. The LDV hasĀ a recommended retail price of $92,990 drivea-way for private buyers. Given that itās a 2WD ute with a 130 kW motor powering rear wheels, itās not the most powerful in its class.
It also comes with an 88.55 kWh battery pack and 330 km of range, and is priced at more than twice that of an equivalent ICE ute.
On the towing front, this ute has a towing capacity of 1,000 kg which is not class-leading in the ICE utes, but it does the job for many looking at towing smaller trailers with tools.
RizĀ 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.