One Dongfeng Rich 6 EV please
While Rivian and Tesla talk a big game and argue among themselves about who will release the first all-electric pick-up/ute, Nissan and Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng have combined forces to beat them to it with the Rich 6 EV. Based off the Navara’s body the Rich ute range traditionally was supplied with either a petrol or diesel engine.
In the Rich 6 EV, that engine has been replaced by a single 68kWh electric motor that reaches the astounding figures of 119kW and 420Nm. The Nissan Dongfeng collaboration has an uninspiringly low payload of 490kg, along with a claimed top speed of 110km/h and more importantly a claimed range of 403km. It also says that it can go from empty to 80% charge in less time than it takes to drive from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, 45 minutes.
Some small drawbacks aside, the fact that the first electric ute to be put into production is a Dongfeng and not a Tesla or Rivian, is impressive. The Rich 6 EV will be exclusively available in China and thanks to the government subsidiaries, the price is expected to be around only $24,000AUD – substantially less than a Tesla.
Looking to the future, if the cooperation between the two companies continues then we can expect their EV products to improve. Therefore, if they can continually be improving the Rich 6 EV by bettering the key specifications – power, distance, and capacity – then by the time either the Rivian or Tesla pick-ups/utes are released, Dongfeng and Nissan should have a much improved product and potentially even be able to match them.
42 comments
Yes finally! Bring it on. It might be early days but at least there is something out there now, these vehicles can only get better from here.
Yawn!
I’m in no hurry to go electric.
Ugly! Boring!
Perfect for tradies running around town! Good progress.
Wow. 403 km range. That is getting better and better. If i had a farm, or need one for local work only, I would give it a try.
Will be interesting to see what km range they can reach in the future.
Is that a range of 403 km with a payload of 490kg at 110kph on a hot day with AC on full blast going uphill most of the time, I don’t think so.
Tow capacity ?
I bet all caravan manufactures are looking forward to the future NOT
I think it should probably read “A 68kWh battery with a 119kW/420Nm motor” kWh = Kilowatts for an hour, it’s the capacity of the battery, just like amp hours, 100Ah = 100 amps for 1 hour
68 kWh = 1kW for 68 hours or 68kW for 1 hour.
So if you drew an average of 68kW it’d run for an hour, which isn’t going to take you 403km, that range would be for putting around at very slow speeds.
My concern is servicing and resale. My understanding is the batteries are expensive and their longevity isn’t that great. Means poor resale.
No. They’re using best-case scenario.
Just like every single other manufacturer.
I can’t believe how many people immediately dismiss anything electric as “useless, bad range, can’t tow”, most of which are just from misinformation.
It’s fantastic that manufacturers are doing this, and as you say, it’s only going to get better.
Just because Scott Morrison said that ALP are trying to ‘steal your weekend’ or whatever, that doesn’t make it true. EVs can tow as well as petrol vehicles.
With Nissan’s current share price, will they still be around to build electric SUVs maybe Dongfeng will be the major partner, probably a better proposition than getting into beds with Mercedes Benz X Class
Subsidies
And when you drive your current ICE around do you always use max power/torgue. Same theory applies to current ice vehicles.
Guessing you haven’t seen what the ford f150 pulled the other day then.
I dred the day we get stuck with something that is a compromise but that day isn’t here yet and China looks like its going to be the test dummy so why get upset they can iron the kinks out.
Progress means improving on something, and yet this electric car does not improve the range, speed, towing capacity, power, compared to a 2019 diesel / petrol vehicle. It does not perform better in any test.
Furthermore, my Nissan Patrol takes 5 minutes to fill up to 100%.
The green dream is a fantasy.
Great progress has been made and it is very early days. The basics of EV have been delivered and great focus will be made to fix the areas needing improvement. If the time to switch from horse to motor vehicle took eleven years, if the technological improvements made to date are any guide, ICE to EV will be quicker. Time will tell.
So if you were a trades-person and wanted to take your tools etc. say 350kg, and tow a 1.5 tonne trailer from Brisbane to Rockhampton, how long would it take? Probably not possible for quite some years I would say. Or would it in fact not be possible at all given the above specs.
do tell
A whole 490kg – 110kmh – range 403km ….. Could it be anymore of a YAWNFEST !!!!!!
Come back when it can do 100% charge in maybe 15mins … 1000km range … and still pull 3500kg
I still want a 200 series Landcruiser with a V8 !!!!!!!!
You do realise tradies tow trailers ??? and they will often weight anywhere from 1000kg to 2500kg ??? Which means they MIGHT have enough charge to get half way to the worksite …. There are no tradies I know would even think of this lame piece of trash.
“EVs can tow as well as petrol vehicles”, you’re kidding aren’t you?
We are light years from that.
From what I understand electric motors develop maximum torque at zero rpm. Something to consider?!!
Electric vehicles are inferior to the horse, as they require a coal fired power station to charge them.
A new electric car, just released , requires 42 hours to charge from empty, at a residential outlet.
Get me an horse…………………
The ENORMOUS amount of energy required to replace petrol and diesel transport fuels with electric can only be done with either, or a combination of, coal, gas, nuclear.
Wind and solar cannot and will not even get close. Even with improving technology, the growth of vehicle numbers will continue to far outstrip supply.
The performance specs for this Ute are likely to be more than adequate in a lot of markets particularly in Asia. Given that Australia has 20 odd million people and China has 1.4 billion plus a whole bunch in Indonesia
We should recognise that Australia is a small rather demanding market segment. There is no reason for China in particular to look to satisfy our requirements
Sad but true so we can’t be sure we are ever going to get what we want unless our governments recognise that we should have a new vehicle industry in Australia
Dead wrong. The ACT uses largely green power and in a decade most electricity will be from renewable sources.
Limited definition of progress and head in the sand stuff Steve. Fossil fueled combustion engines have been around a century, electric (and/or hydrogen fuel cell) are only just starting out. Depending on use and need there’s a place for a range of vehicle types, particularly during the transition period, but probably far longer. Not sure what you’re afraid of myself.
The renewable energy poster child is South Australia, after blowing up their primary power station, gas powered generators surround the city, with pot plants disguising their existence.
The link below gives you an idea of how little renewables provide.
https://www.energymatters.com.au/energy-efficiency/australian-electricity-statistics/
George, now imagine 200% increase in energy demand with every automobile plugged in to the network.
Dead wrong George.
Each year in the ACT we use about 2,900,000 megawatt hours of electricity in our homes and workplaces. In 2014-15, around 80% of this energy came from non-renewable sources creating 2.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
https://www.actsmart.act.gov.au/what-is-the-government-doing/energy/renewal-energy-targets
Thanks for posting the link. I’m guessing most people wouldn’t be aware of the mix and the contribution of each source.
45 mins to charge.. same as sydney to blue mountains…
400klm range best scenario…
As long as you have no air con on, no radio, no towing, no headwind and downhill… which with any of them – is now ~200klm… best scenario…
Meanwhile your mate is already at the destination with his caravan, setup, showered, sitting in the sun relaxing with a beer, while you’ve had to stop again to charge up or waiting for a towtruck to take you somewhere to charge up.
Makes for an awesome relaxing holiday…
Its still only pretending… come back in 10 years.
I didn’t know that link existed, if it’s accurate then coal is still absolute King in the energy market and renewables have still got a long long way to go.
Imagine if our countries car fleet was only 10% electric we,d still be stuffed trying to recharge them
Absolute nonsense. In Australia, we have an abundance of natural renewable resources and the land on which to place the generation and storage.
Go argue with the scientists from the CSIRO and ANU, among others, who will demonstrate how wrong you are. If you accept the evidence from their research rather than deny facts.
There is absolutely no need for Australia to generate any of its power requirements now or into the future from anything other than renewable sources. We also have the capacity to export energy.
What we need is leadership from a competent government (clearly not the current one) to encourage private sector investment, a fair price on carbon and the government to support the expansion and improvement of the National Electricity Grid including connecting WA and NT.
It is now more than 20% and rising quickly. But your point stands. However, many EV owners also have substantial solar capacity so that boost their renewable component.
BTW, TAS has 97% renewables, largely due to its hydro.
It is far from that simple.
Ever raced a road car on a track. It is amazing how much fuel a petrol car can use when flat out all the time. There again, you never drive that way ont he road. Also city miles in an EV use a lot less power because of lower power demand and regeneration, particularly in places like Chinese cities which are unbelievably congested.
We have all seen how much everything in Australia goes up in price with supply and demand imagine how expensive power will be if everyone had electric cars no thanks
Are you going to reply to the below comments george, or is your head in the sand?
Just because they do doesn’t mean that you need to use all the torque from stand still. Same as combustible engine vehicle. Do you floor the pedal every time you take off? Doubt it.
Towing a trailer will not be a problem as they soon will be self powered electric also. You will also be able to power share between them both. Will be even easier to take off from stopped on a hill as the trailer will drive itself.
This is the future. Bring it on.