LDV T60 successor could go electric only, on track for Australia next year

The starting price of the LDV T60 may triple if it is succeeded by a solely electric ute next year – and a new model with diesel power in development in China does not come to Australia.

LDV executives told Australian media today the production version of the Maxus GST electric pick-up concept unveiled by LDV’s parent company at the Shanghai motor show earlier this year is due in local showrooms next year.

But it will be sold in Australia exclusively with electric power – and there will be no diesel version.

The company says LDV in China is developing a new petrol- or diesel-powered ute – which could be a successor to the current T60, the company’s top seller in Australia – but LDV Australia has not locked it in for local showrooms.

It would be an unprecedented move to drop diesel power – and go solely electric – given the electric LDV eT60 accounts for just 1 per cent of T60 sales in Australia.

The current LDV eT60 costs more than double the price of the diesel – $92,990 plus on-road costs, compared to $39,042 drive-away – and it is rear-wheel drive only with a limited 330km claimed driving range.

LDV executives would not be drawn on if the current eT60 would continue beside the new electric pick-up, which in Australia will not wear the concept’s GST name, given the local tax of the same name.

The LDV T60 and eT60 – in its current form – will not be able to be sold in Australia after March 2025, when autonomous emergency braking technology that it lacks becomes mandatory for all new vehicles.

The covers are expected to come off the showroom version of the Maxus GST concept early to mid next year, with LDV Australia product-planning representatives telling media more details are due between April and June 2024.

It is due in showrooms by the end of next year.

When asked if there would be a diesel-powered sibling to the new LDV electric ute, an LDV Australia representative said: “There’s an ICE [petrol or diesel] model under development. Whether we bring it to Australia I can’t confirm.”

The company representative said: “Because of the context in which SAIC [LDV’s parent company] and Maxus [LDV’s branding in China] exists in the Chinese market, it makes more sense for the development of the [electric] model first, and then assess development of ICE models.”

There is a facelifted version of the LDV T60 available in China, sold under the ‘Interstellar H’ name – however it is not confirmed for Australia.

“There is a new T60 facelift or variant on sale in China. It went on in China about three months ago,” the representative said.

“We were considering that model for Australia and still are considering that model, but can’t confirm whether we will take it.”

The current LDV T60 was last facelifted in 2021 when it adopted a new front end, updated interior, more powerful twin-turbo diesel engine, and th ‘Max’ badge.

But the structure of the vehicle dates back to 2017, and it is the last car in its category without autonomous emergency braking – a key safety technology that will become mandatory for all new vehicles sold in Australia from March 2025.

LDV Australia general manager Dinesh Chinnappa indicated to Drive last year the current T60 was due for replacement late next year, and that work on a successor has been underway in China since the start of 2021.

The illustrations in this story by Theottle show what the production version of the Maxus GST could look like – though they were created before it was confirmed there would not be a diesel version.

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